LAGOS, Dec 17 – Nigerian tanker drivers on Friday suspended petrol deliveries to Lagos and other areas to protest the firing of 2,500 members, sparking long queues at filling stations, a union leader said.
"We have asked our members to stop supply to the entire western states of Lagos, Ekiti, Ondo, Oyo, Osun and Kwara," Tokunbo Korodo told AFP.
He said the industrial action was to protest the "unjustified sack of 2,500 tanker drivers by MRS Oil and Gas Plc."
He said the company has 3,200 drivers on its payroll and the affected drivers have not been paid for two months.
"The strike will be indefinite because as a responsible union we cannot fold our arms and accept this unpleasant Christmas gift from MRS," he said.
Long queues formed at petrol stations in Lagos early Friday as word of the strike spread.
Korodo said the strike would be suspended when MRS reinstated the sacked drivers, warning that the action could be extended to other parts of the country.
Petroleum products are mostly delivered by truck in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country with 150 million people and the world’s eighth largest oil exporter.
Previous strikes have caused fuel scarcities and long queues at petrol stations.
Last month, drivers went on strike to protest the alleged abuse of their members by the military. The action was called off after the government waded into the dispute.
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