Workers in Nigeria started protests demanding a better minimum wage, and they are planning to shut down the government if it does not implement a new minimum wage agreed with labor unions.

The workers complain that the current minimum wage in Nigeria was equivalent to $140 in 2011, and that today it is less than $60, because of the depleting purchasing power of the Nigerian currency.

They say the current minimum wage negatively affects more than eleven million workers, together with their family members.

Reports indicate that the delay in implementing the new minimum wage by the government, may be part of the reason for the protests, or workers may be taking advantage of the general elections that will be held in that country next month.

The Nigerian federal government had agreed to nearly double the minimum wage for workers, but some states claimed they could not afford to pay it.