Protests, strike shut down Nigeria for fifth day

A nationwide strike and mass protests shut down Nigeria for a fifth day running Friday, but union leaders called for a weekend pause in demonstrations as talks sought to avert a halt in oil production. A first round of negotiations between labour leaders and top government officials, including President Goodluck Jonathan, failed to reach a deal on Thursday night over soaring fuel prices, but more talks are set for Saturday. Union officials said the pause in talks until then was to allow for labour officials from across the country to gather in Abuja and meet on the way forward. With domestic flights grounded, they would be forced to come by road. The main oil workers' union has threatened to shut crude production beginning on Sunday if the government does not reverse a move that ended fuel subsidies on January 1, more than doubling pump prices in Africa's top crude exporter. World oil prices moved higher in Asian trade Friday over concerns that Nigerian supplies could be hit. Although the strike has paralysed Africa's most populous country and brought tens of thousands on to the streets, oil workers have so far not moved to halt output of crude, the country's economic lifeline. Babatunde Ogun, president of the 20,000-strong PENGASSAN oil workers' union warned that "from Sunday, we are shutting down". The blue-collar union NUPENG had already joined the strike. "A shutdown of oil production in Nigeria means a potential loss of at least three percent of global oil production," said Kayode Tinouye, an analyst with Lagos-based Afrinvest. OPEC member Nigeria produces more than two million barrels per day and is a key supplier of crude to the United States and European Union. While protests pushed ahead on Friday, including thousands in the economic capital Lagos, where Muslims held prayers at the main protest ground, labour leaders said there would be a pause in demonstrations over the weekend. Nigeria Labour Congress president Abdulwahed Omar however told a rally in the capital Abuja that Monday will see "the mother of all crowds" if the government does not backtrack. While unions have not officially suspended the strike for the weekend, there was the widespread expectation that a number of businesses would open temporarily to allow Nigerians to restock on food. Government officials and economists say removing subsidies was essential and will allow much of the $8 billion per year in savings to be ploughed into projects to improve the country's woefully inadequate infrastructure. But Nigerians are united in anger against the removal of subsidies, which they view as their only benefit from the nation's oil wealth. There is also deep mistrust of government after years of blatant corruption. Labour officials have said the government had offered to reduce petrol prices to 120 naira per litre ($0.74, 0.58 euros) -- down from the current 140 or more -- but unions have not yet accepted it. The strike and protests have put the government under mounting pressure as it also seeks to stop spiralling attacks blamed on Islamist group Boko Haram, which have raised tensions and led to warnings of civil war. More than 80 Christians have been killed in bomb and gun attacks in recent weeks, most of them attributed to Boko Haram. A raid on a Muslim village in the northeastern state of Adamawa late Thursday saw a mob kill two people and burn mosques and homes. Some residents said the raid was in retaliation for recent killings of Christians in Adamawa, but the state also holds governorship elections on January 21, with campaign periods in Nigeria often provoking such violence.