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Businessman and political commentator Isaac Fayose has criticised Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo over the governor’s recent comparison of petrol prices in Nigeria and the United Kingdom.
Okpebholo had said Nigerians were paying less for petrol than motorists in the UK after he visited London and checked the price of fuel at a filling station.
Speaking at the “Operation Rescue Benin-Asaba Road” event in Edo State on September 24, Okpebholo said a litre of petrol in the UK cost more than ₦3,000 after conversion to naira.
“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,” the governor said.
Okpebholo used the comparison to argue that Nigerians were paying relatively less for petrol and said President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms were stabilising the economy. His comments were subsequently reported by several Nigerian media outlets.
However, Fayose argued that comparing pump prices without considering workers’ earnings and purchasing power gives an incomplete picture.
In a video response, Fayose pointed to Nigeria’s ₦70,000 minimum wage and argued that a worker earning that amount could purchase only about 49 litres of petrol at a price of ₦1,500 per litre.
“Minimum wage in Nigeria is ₦70,000. That means in a month, with your salary in Nigeria, minimum wage, you can only buy 49 litres of petrol,” Fayose said.
He then compared this with earnings in the UK, where he said minimum-wage workers could earn about £2,000 a month.
Fayose put the UK minimum wage at between £13 and £15 an hour. The current statutory National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and above, however, is £12.71 per hour, effective from April 1, 2026. At 40 hours a week, that works out to roughly £2,204 in gross monthly earnings before tax and other deductions.
The ₦70,000 figure cited by Fayose was the minimum wage introduced for Edo State workers by the previous state administration in May 2024.
Fayose’s broader argument was that the affordability of petrol should be assessed in relation to income rather than by comparing the naira price of a litre in Nigeria with its converted value in Britain.
He also referred to differences in public services and living conditions between the two countries, including healthcare, roads, electricity and security.
“These are the kind of people that you allowed to forcefully take over the affairs of your life,” Fayose said in his criticism of the governor.
Meanwhile, available UK fuel-price data indicates that the governor’s basic price comparison was not without a factual basis: petrol in the UK was around £1.72 per litre in the week ending September 21, 2026, which was approximately ₦3,000 at the exchange rate used in the report. But the same comparison does not by itself establish which country offers greater fuel affordability, because wages, taxes, household expenses and purchasing power differ between the two economies.
The exchange has therefore shifted attention from the nominal price of petrol to a broader question of how much fuel an average worker can afford from his or her income.
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