Nigeria tanker drivers strike over fuel prices

Nigeria’s gasoline tanker drivers went on an indefinite nationwide strike on Friday in protest over high fuel prices and the state of the country’s dilapidated roads, a senior union official said.

Global fuel prices have risen by 50 percent since the start of 2008, triggering protests around the world and raising fears of runaway inflation. U.S. crude climbed to a record high near $147 a barrel on Friday.

“The high diesel price is biting very hard on Nigeria. It’s unbearable,” said Pius Ikechi, the deputy president of the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas workers.

Reuters