Nigeria hit by fuel shortages after strike
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Police try to clear a flaming road block in Lagos, Nigeria Monday. A general strike to protest a rise in fuel costs has led to scarcity and driven the price up.
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LAGOS, Nigeria (Reuters) -- Nigerians said they were paying up to 10 times the official rate to fill their vehicles with petrol as the country groaned under biting fuel shortages on Wednesday after an eight-day general strike.
"It's terrible, people are really suffering. They want to get fuel so they are doing whatever they can to get it," said Deji Kuku, an estate surveyor, shortly after he was restrained from punching a driver who nearly reversed into his car.
Fuel imports had stopped during the general strike, which was called after the government raised fuel prices from 26 naira ($0.20) a litre to 40 naira last month. Nigeria's main trade union called off the strike on Tuesday after a compromise agreement to set the price at 34 naira.
Despite being the eighth biggest oil exporter in the world, and the fifth largest supplier to the U.S., the poor state of Nigeria's four refineries means it still relies heavily on imported fuel.
Street gangs known as "Area Boys" made brisk business extorting money from hapless motorists on Wednesday.
"They ask you to pay 200 naira before they let you into the station," said businessman Don-Mary Odenigbo. "You pay another 200 naira to the pump attendants before they serve you. It's crazy."
The black market for petrol did a roaring trade. In the central city of Jos, a resident said a litre of petrol sold on the black market for between 500 and 600 naira. In Abuja, the standard price was 350 naira.
Three days ahead of a visit by U.S. President George W. Bush, the snaking fuel queues caused further discontent in Africa's most populous nation and largest oil producer.
Hundreds of passengers were stranded at bus stations, as the shortages have forced scores of commuter buses off the roads, as well as triggering a hefty rise in fares.
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