LAGOS, Nigeria – Nigeria’s president says the nation’s fuel prices will immediately drop amid a paralyzing nationwide strike.
President Goodluck Jonathan made the comments in a speech aired Monday morning on the state-run Nigerian Television Authority. Jonathan said fuel prices will drop to about $2.75 a gallon (60 cents a liter). The nationwide strike began Jan. 9, paralyzing the nation of more than 160 million people.
The root cause remains gasoline prices: Jonathan’s government abandoned subsidies that kept gasoline prices low on Jan. 1, causing prices to spike from $1.70 per gallon ($0.45 per liter) to at least $3.50 per gallon ($0.94 per liter).
The costs of food and transportation also largely doubled in a nation where most people live on less than $2 a day.