Abuja - Nigeria's petrol tanker drivers suspended a nationwide strike that had sparked panic fuel-buying, after the government pledged to lower the cost of diesel, a senior union official said on Monday.

"We suspended our action on Saturday night after promises from the oil minister that he would find a way to subsidise fuel prices," said Pius Ikechi, the deputy president of the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas workers.

In June, the government was forced to freeze domestic petrol prices for another six months to prevent protests. - Reuters

• This article was originally published on page 6 of The Mercury on July 15, 2008