APM slams Okpebholo for comparing Nigerian fuel prices to UK

File photo: Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo.

The Allied Peoples Movement has condemned the Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, over the comparison of petrol prices in Nigeria and the United Kingdom, demanding his resignation over what it described as an insensitive justification of the rising cost of fuel.

In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Abubakar Yusuf, on Sunday, the party criticised the pump price of over N1,500 per litre, saying it was worsening the hardship faced by Nigerians and should not be compared with the UK without considering differences in income levels and purchasing power.

Speaking on September 24 at the “Operation Rescue Benin-Asaba Road” event, the governor said petrol sells for about N3,000 per litre in the UK when converted to naira, compared with the lower price in Nigeria.

He added that, despite the challenges, Nigeria was “doing very well.”

Reacting, the APM described the comparison as inappropriate, citing the wide income gap between Nigerian and British workers, and the differences in public transport systems.

The statement read, “The Allied Peoples Movement demands that the Governor of Edo State, Senator Monday Okpebholo, should resign from office following his attempt to justify the excessive cost of fuel in the country under the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress administration.

“The APM strongly condemns the punishing increase in the pump price of fuel to over N1,500 per litre at a time Nigerians are eagerly expecting a reduction, describing it as a brutal assault on the citizens by the Tinubu administration. The increase at this time is a huge recipe for crisis, as Nigerians are already overburdened and cannot bear its suffocating effect on their lives

“It is, therefore, reckless and irresponsible of Governor Okpebholo to state 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 that of a British citizen.

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“It is, to say the least, callous for a state governor to attempt to benchmark petrol price in Nigeria with that of 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.”

The APM said the income disparity was significant, noting that while a Nigerian school teacher earns about N70,000 or less monthly, a teacher in the UK has a starting salary of roughly £2,839, equivalent to about N4.9m.

The party also contrasted Nigeria’s largely informal and costly public transport system with the structured, regulated and subsidised system in the UK.

Yusuf further noted that petrol is significantly cheaper in other oil-producing countries, citing Libya and Iran, where it sells for the equivalent of about N41 to N52 per litre.

APM stated, “It is, therefore, completely irrational and highly provocative for APC Governor Okpebholo to attempt to compare the situation in the UK to that of Nigeria. Such a comment from a governor is capable of triggering a widespread protest and breakdown of law and order across the country.

“This is especially coming against the backdrop of public apprehension that the comment by the Edo State governor could be a test ground of the APC administration to justify a further increase in the pump price of petrol.”

The statement added that the party 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 as embodied in our presidential candidate, Engr. Seyi Makinde.”

It noted that “under a Makinde/Daura presidency and our Reset Agenda, the interest and well-being of all Nigerians will be the top priority of government. 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.”