BENIN CITY, NIGERIA — Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has sparked intense nationwide debate after asserting that Nigerians are “doing very well” and essentially “enjoying” under current petroleum pricing frameworks compared to motorists in the United Kingdom.
The Governor made the remarks during the official flag-off ceremony for the “Operation Rescue Benin-Asaba Road” infrastructure project. Defending the bold macroeconomic reforms introduced by President Bola Tinubu, Okpebholo urged Nigerians to halt aggressive complaints regarding domestic fuel pricing hikes, arguing that the true international conversion value of petrol places Nigeria in a much stronger position.
Sharing an anecdote from a personal trip to Europe, Okpebholo stated: “When we complained about the cost of petrol, I was in London last week. I told my friend, ‘Let’s go and buy fuel just to know the cost of fuel between Nigeria and England.’ Let me tell you, after conversion, it’s about ₦3,000-something for one litre of fuel. We are doing very well here”.
The Governor went further to describe President Tinubu as a calculated economist who is making the necessary, albeit difficult, policy interventions required to permanently stabilize the volatile Nigerian economy. He dismissively warned opposition figures and corporate detractors to step back, emphasizing that the country is currently in safe, technocratic hands.
However, the Governor’s cross-continental comparison has triggered an immediate, fierce backlash across mainstream and digital media spaces. Economic analysts and labor union observers quickly pointed out on social platforms that comparing international currency equivalents is highly misleading without factoring in purchasing power. Critics noted that while a UK citizen earning the national living wage can purchase a litre of petrol with less than ten minutes of labor, a full tank of petrol in Nigeria at current prices can consume nearly an entire month’s national minimum wage of ₦70,000.
Despite the raging controversy, the Edo State government has maintained that Okpebholo’s primary point was to highlight global energy inflation and urge patience as local refinery outputs scale up.
