On Monday the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and other members of organized labor launched a nationwide strike that saw to the standstill of economic activities. They had launched the strike to force the government to increase the minimum wage.
Several major sectors in the country felt the effects of the strike including, oil and gas, power, transportation, judiciary, and the educational sector.
However, given Nigeria’s reliance on oil and gas, the sector recorded a significant loss in the space of the day. A report by the Nigerian newspaper The Punch revealed that Nigeria most likely lost about N148.8bn on Monday owing to the sector’s shutdown.
Given the current data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Nigeria produces 1,281,478 barrels of crude oil per day (excluding condensates).
The price of a barrel of crude oil, measured globally by Brent, was $78.27 on Monday. On Monday, the official Central Bank of Nigeria exchange rate for the US dollar was N1,483.5.
According to these figures, Nigeria is estimated to have lost about N148.8bn on Monday alone.
The strike by the labor unions was not unprovoked. These bodies had, before the strike action warned the Nigerian government to heed their demands.
They had asked the government to increase the minimum wage as committed to, in response to the hyperinflation currently plaguing the country.
They gave the government about 2 weeks to negotiate a fair wage to which the government barely responded. As a result, the strike was launched effectively causing major losses around the country.
