DC Demo Supports Striking Nigerian Workers

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)Protesters rallied outside the World Bank building in Washington, D.C., on Monday in support of Nigeria’s nation-wide strike opposing the soaring price of fuel. After the government ended fuel subsidies January 1, prices doubled overnight. The Washington action was aimed at the international financial institutions that have long argued against domestic fuel subsidies in Nigeria where long-term mismanagement and corruption have forced it to import 70 percent of its fuel, even while it is the 10th largest producer of crude oil in the world. The AFL-CIO announced its "solidarity with Nigerian workers who are peacefully protesting the removal of fuel subsidies in their country" and strongly condemned acts of violence targeted at intimidating and threatening peaceful protesters. Click here for Elizabeth Boomer's report.