President Obasanjo adamant on petrol

President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria has said his government is determined to remove subsidies on petroleum products as part of reforms of the energy sector.

President Obasanjo said the present subsidy did not make sense as it failed to benefit the majority of Nigerians.

He said the government would instead subsidise education, health and water services.

Labour organisations have threatened to strike if the government goes ahead with the deregulation plans it announced last week, which would see oil refineries in Nigeria pay international market prices for crude oil. Correspondents say Nigeria suffers persistent fuel shortages despite being the world's fourth largest oil producer.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service