Nigeria's President Olusegun Obasanjo has agreed to review a massive hike in fuel prices, but labor unions say the move is not enough to call off a general strike.
Following talks between the two sides in the capital, Abuja, strike leader Adams Oshiomhole said although the development was welcome, his movement would not stop protesting until the decision to slash fuel subsidies was reversed.
The move caused a more than 50-percent rise in the fuel costs.
The AFP news agency reports President Obasanjo will set up a committee, including labor representatives, to discuss the price hike during talks to be held later Monday.
The Nigerian Labor Congress organized an indefinite strike, which took began earlier Monday. Large numbers of Nigerian workers stayed home or joined in the street demonstrations despite a court order ruling the work stoppage illegal.
In Abuja, and the main city, Lagos, riot police cracked down, firing tear gas as strikers burned tires, set up roadblocks and chanted anti-government slogans. Shops and offices shut down in both cities, and elsewhere, including the northern city of Kano, an opposition stronghold.
President Obasanjo has defended the decision, saying the savings are needed to improve health care and education.
Although Nigeria is the one of the world's largest oil producers, the country suffers from severe shortages of refined petroleum products such as gasoline and diesel fuel. Most of its oil is exported.