A Nigeria Labor Congress leader announced here on Friday that protests will be suspended on Saturday and Sunday.

Nigeria Labor Congress president Abdulwahed Omar told a rally in Abuja, capital of the country, that the suspension of protests is to facilitate talks between government and trade unions over fuel subsidies.

But the strike which entered its fifth day Friday will continue till the issue has been settled, another leader of the trade union said.

The labor bodies asked protesters all over the country to stay at home on Saturday and Sunday to enable them to get enough rest and refreshment for the next week's task.

Omar told his audience that the two days break was to allow the protesters to relax their nerves and reconvene on Monday in pursuance of their agenda.

The Nigerian government and organized labor on Thursday in Abuja agreed to shift grounds in their respective positions to end the on-going national protest against the removal of fuel subsidy.

The government announced the withdrawal of subsidy on petrol on Jan. 1, thereby increasing the pump price of a litre of petrol from 65 naira to between 138 naira and 141 naira.

NLC's president told newsmen after a tripartite meeting between government, labor and civil society groups that the agreement was reached after prolonged negotiations.

Emerging from the meeting, Omar said the three interest groups had useful discussions toward ending the strike and protests soon. He said the meeting would reconvene on Saturday.