FG and labour union to sit today

The Federal Government and unions prepared for last-ditch talks Saturday to end a week-old nationwide strike over fuel prices and avert an oil production shutdown in Africa’s largest crude exporter.

The talks set for Saturday evening come after the country’s unions called for a weekend suspension of the strike and protests that had shut down the country since Monday, prompting Nigerians to rush to markets to stock up on food.

The government enters the talks under intense pressure after the country’s main oil workers union threatened to begin halting crude production at midnight by withdrawing its workers from platforms if a deal is not reached.