Africa News
Nigerian government urges strikers to return to work
Jan 11, 2012, 12:43 GMT
Abuja - Nigeria's government urged demonstrators Wednesday to return to work and stop protesting against the removal of fuel subsidies.
Three people were killed in demonstrations on Monday, when an estimated 8 million people took to the streets to protest the January 1 government decision to stop subsidies on imported petrol, prompting fuel prices to double to 0.80 dollar per litre.
Strike action continued on Tuesday and Wednesday in some parts of the country.
The government said Wednesday that it would impose a 'no work, no pay' rule on civil servants if they did not return to their desks.
Attorney General Mohammed Adoke said the economy has 'unlawfully' ground to a halt as a result of the protests.
Traffic circulated on the streets of Abuja Wednesday, but many shops, banks and businesses remained closed. The price of cocoa dropped by more than 40 per cent Tuesday.
Political and economic expert Saddiq Abubakar said the nation's losses could run into millions of dollars.
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