The Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has come under heavy criticism after saying Nigerians should consider themselves fortunate that petrol currently sells for between N1,400 and N1,500 per litre, compared with the equivalent of more than N3,000 in the United Kingdom.
Okpebholo made the controversial comparison while speaking at the “Operation Rescue Benin-Asaba Road” event in Edo State, where he defended the economic reforms of the Bola Tinubu administration.
The governor said he recently visited London and deliberately bought petrol with a friend to compare the cost with prices in Nigeria. According to him, converting the amount paid in pounds to naira showed that petrol in the UK costs more than N3,000 per litre.
His remarks have sparked widespread backlash, with critics arguing that comparing pump prices without considering income levels, purchasing power and living costs in both countries presents a distorted picture of the economic realities facing Nigerians.
Petrol prices in Nigeria vary across locations, with pump prices ranging from about N400 to N1,500 per litre, while the country continues to grapple with the effects of subsidy removal, inflation and rising costs of essential goods and services.
Defending the Federal Government’s economic policies, Okpebholo acknowledged that the ongoing reforms were difficult but insisted they would eventually stabilise the economy.
He said: “We are doing very well here because what we are seeing in Nigeria today is a reform. The reform that is ongoing is a very difficult one, and President Bola Tinubu is working to stabilise the country’s economy.”
The governor compared the reforms to an aircraft taking off, arguing that Nigerians would have to endure the difficult phase before the benefits of the policies become evident.
“When a plane is taking off, do you see them serving food? Do you see the air hostesses serving food in the plane? They will never give you food until the seatbelt is released.
“That means on a cruising level is when they will start serving food. I want to let you know that very soon Nigeria will be on a cruising level,” he said.
Okpebholo also used the occasion to express confidence in President Tinubu’s continued leadership, declaring: “Is Aso Rock vacant? No, Aso Rock is not vacant.”
His fuel price comparison quickly generated reactions on social media, particularly from Nigerians who questioned why the governor did not consider the significant difference between wages and purchasing power in Nigeria and the UK.
An Instagram user, @hakimizaki_01, asked: “And so? Are we using the same currency? Do they have crude oil? Do they have petrol? Are they not buying them from other countries? This is a very stupid thing to say to Nigerians. Yes, indeed, the United Kingdom buys petrol at a higher price because their currency has more value than ours.”
Another user, @trainritefitness, equally asked: “How much is the average salary in the UK and Nigeria? The UK imports oil, but we have it in abundance. So, on what basis is the governor making the comparison? He is just trying to insult our sensibilities, but Nigerians are wiser now.”
For @oakzzz2024, “When people now call him dumb and illiterate, body go dey pepper dem. Imagine the kind of people that are ruling us.”
Another irate user, @sminozane0, thundered: “Mumu, u dey compare fuel price, why u no compare the minimum wage of both countries? Fool. Na why your WAEC result no sound. Okpes, try dey think before you talk.”
For @dee_dapper_dan, the governor needs to compare the minimum wage between Nigeria and the UK.
Another user, @o.king.leo, wrote: “Haha, nation of low IQ tree swingers. What do you expect from a governor who didn’t go to school? This is the result of rigging for incompetent persons and imbeciles.”
“This is a guy that got D7 in WAEC, what do you expect?” another user, @icraveayo, submitted.
The controversy also drew a political response from the Allied Peoples Movement, APM, which called for Okpebholo’s resignation over what it described as an attempt to justify the high cost of petrol under the Tinubu administration.
In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Abubakar Yusuf, the party argued that the rising pump price was worsening the economic pressure on Nigerians and warned that the governor’s remarks were insensitive to the realities confronting households.
The APM said it was “reckless and irresponsible for Okpebholo to say that Nigerians should not complain about the N1,500 per litre cost of fuel in the country because it is cheaper than an average N3,000 per litre cost in the United Kingdom, without taking into consideration the per capita income and purchasing power of an average Nigerian in comparison to a British citizen.”
According to the party, “It is, to say the least, callous for a state governor to attempt to benchmark petrol prices in Nigeria with the UK, where the purchasing power of an average wage earner is over £2,636 (N4.6 million) monthly, compared to the paltry N70,000 monthly minimum wage earned by their peers in Nigeria.
“For clarity, while an average school teacher in Nigeria earns N70,000 or less, his counterpart in the UK takes a monthly starting salary of about £2,839 (N4.9 million).
“Also, while an average Nigerian wage earner is subjected to informal, chaotic, heavily and expensive public transportation, the public transport system in the United Kingdom is structured, highly regulated and heavily subsidised by the British government for the benefit of its citizens.”
The party further pointed to petrol prices in other oil-producing nations, including Libya and Iran, arguing that their comparatively lower prices made the UK comparison inappropriate.
The APM said: “It is, therefore, completely irrational and highly provocative for Governor Okpebholo to attempt to compare the situation in the UK to Nigeria. Such a comment from a governor is capable of triggering widespread protests and a breakdown of law and order across the country.
“This is especially coming against the backdrop of public apprehension that the governor’s comment could be a test ground for the All Progressives Congress, APC-led administration to justify a further increase in the pump price of petrol as part of the party’s plot to inflict more hardship on Nigerians.
“Nevertheless, the APM urges Nigerians not to despair, as the 2027 presidential election affords the nation the golden opportunity to vote in a humane, transparent, people-based and efficient leadership.
“Nigerians do not deserve this level of intolerable suffering that the APC-led administration has subjected them to, given the enormous resources at the disposal of the government,” the party stated.
A labour unionist, Abayomi Idowu, also criticised the governor’s remarks, describing them as insensitive and provocative.
Idowu said the statement reflected what he described as the attitude of the APC towards the hardship confronting Nigerian workers, arguing that there was no meaningful basis for comparing fuel prices without considering income levels.
“How can anybody in his right senses compare the fuel price in Nigeria and the UK? Is that not madness? Where do you even start the comparison?
“Does he know how much people receive in the UK as the minimum wage? With the minimum wage of N70,000 per month for an average Nigerian worker, the total annual emolument is not even up to a monthly minimum wage of a British worker. So, I can’t find any basis for that comparison.
“You see, some of these APC politicians and their supporters are not just drunk but evil and wicked. And they think Nigerians are fools and idiots. Otherwise, how can a sitting governor make such a comment?
“What it means is that he is very happy at the suffering of Nigerians. I don’t blame him. He doesn’t buy fuel with his money. He doesn’t buy food with his money. He doesn’t pay house rent with his money. He lives on taxpayers’ sweat, so even if a litre of fuel is N5,000, he doesn’t care.
“That’s the kind of heartless people that occupy various leadership positions in Nigeria, and that is why the citizens are gnashing their teeth and writhing in agony and pain.
“I just want Gov. Okpebholo and his likes to remember the day of reckoning. Karma is real, and retributive justice is inevitable. Nigerians are in pain. Nigerians are suffering, and the God of vengeance will surely act at the appropriate time,” he stated.
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