Union leaders in Nigeria have called off a week-long nationwide strike, following a decision by Goodluck Jonathan, the Nigerian president, to roll back fuel-price increases. Jonathan announced on Monday that he would reduce fuel prices, while soldiers moved to shut down demonstrations in the country's major cities.
His government will reduce the prices by 30 per cent, to around N97per gallon, by restoring some subsidies that it removed at the beginning of January. Prices will still be considerably higher than they were before the subsidies were removed.
The removal of subsidies sparked street protests and, as of last week, the national strike. Unions announced early on Monday morning that they would halt protests after being warned by Jonathan that "people outside organised labour may try to hijack" the demonstrations, Abdulwahed Omar, the head of Nigeria Labour Congress, said.
