Due to the national grid being shut down as part of a mass strike over the growing cost of living, millions of Nigerians are without electricity.
Shortly after 2:00 local time (01:00 GMT), union members shut down energy substations and prevented operators at the nation’s power control centers from working, sending the entire country into darkness.
Additionally, a number of aircraft have been canceled, leaving passengers stranded at both the capital, Abuja, and the busiest airport in the nation, Lagos.
Unions claim that workers cannot make ends meet at the existing minimum wage of 30,000 naira (£18; $22) a month, and they are calling for a significant rise in this amount.
Security guard Mallam Magaji Garba tells the news that although the government is promising to treble this, this would not even be it.
Even before other charges are included in, the price of the bag of rice is 75,000 naira ($56; £44), which is more than the government’s proposal.
“In order for us to live and eat decently, I am calling on the government to take us into consideration and increase the minimum wage,” Mr. Magaji, who works for the education ministry in the northern city of Kano, adds.
“It is unfair that the highest ranking government officials receive monthly salaries of millions of dollars, while the lowest paid workers struggle to make ends meet.”
