LAGOS, Nigeria, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- Nigerian protests over the cancellation of a government oil subsidy are growing into a larger outcry against the current government, observers said.
CNN said shops, banks and gas stations remained closed Thursday as the national strike entered its fourth day. In Lagos, tires burned in the middle of empty streets.
Economists said the fuel subsidy, which ended Jan. 1, encouraged the smuggling of gasoline into neighboring countries where fuel was more expensive, Voice of America said.
Nigerian oil workers have threatened to cease oil production to protest gas prices that have doubled since New Year's Day. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria oil workers union said it has alerted oil platforms to prepare to close down.
"Now that the federal government has decided to be callous minded, we hereby direct all production platforms to be on red alert in preparation for total production shutdown," the association said in a statement.
Nigeria is Africa's top oil producer and exports more than 2 million barrels of crude a day. The fuel subsidy was one of the fuel benefits average Nigerians received from the country's oil wealth. Voice of America said most Nigerians live on less than $2 per day.
