Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo has entered the debate over Nigeria’s petrol prices with a comparison that took the argument beyond the country’s filling stations and into the streets of London.
Speaking at the “Operation Rescue Benin-Asaba Road” event in Edo State on Thursday, Okpebholo said he personally checked petrol prices during a recent visit to the United Kingdom and found that a litre of fuel cost the equivalent of more than ₦3,000 after conversion.
The governor used the comparison to argue that Nigerians are paying less for petrol than motorists in Britain, while defending the economic direction of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Okpebholo recalled that he had been in London the previous week when he decided to visit a filling station with a friend.
“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.’”
He added that the price he encountered, after converting it to naira, was “₦3,000-something” per litre.
“We are doing very well here,” the governor said, while praising Tinubu’s economic policies.
The comparison comes amid continued public concern over the cost of petrol and the broader pressure on household and business expenses.
Beyond the pump price
For Okpebholo, however, the current fuel price is part of a larger economic transition that he said Nigerians must endure before the benefits of the Federal Government’s reforms become more visible.
The governor acknowledged that the reforms were difficult but argued that they were necessary to put the economy on what he described as a “cruising level”.
He illustrated his point with an aircraft analogy, saying passengers are not served meals while a plane is still taking off.
His message was that Nigeria, like an aircraft climbing to cruising altitude, was still passing through the difficult phase of its economic journey.
“I want to let you know, very soon Nigeria will be on the cruising level. Nigeria will be on a cruising level,” he said.
Okpebholo also pointed to ongoing road construction across the country as evidence, in his view, that the reforms were producing visible changes.
“Look at the kind of roads that are being constructed today, concrete pavement all over Nigeria,” he said.
Benin-Asaba Road takes centre stage
The governor made the remarks while backing the Federal Government’s intervention on the deteriorating Benin-Asaba Road, a major route connecting Edo and Delta states.
The “Operation Rescue Benin-Asaba Road” initiative was organised around efforts to address the condition of the highway, which has caused difficulties for motorists and other road users.
The Federal Government has commenced emergency work on the road, while Works Minister David Umahi has said the temporary intervention is expected to improve the route within four weeks.
The government also plans to redesign the 136-kilometre dualisation project using reinforced concrete pavement.
For Okpebholo, the road intervention offered another opportunity to highlight what he described as the impact of the Tinubu administration’s policies.
Okpebholo weighs in on 2027
The governor did not limit his comments to petrol prices and infrastructure.
He also used the gathering to express support for Tinubu’s continued presidency ahead of the 2027 election, questioning those preparing to challenge the President.
“Is Aso Rock vacant? Is Aso Rock vacant? So Aso Rock is not vacant,” Okpebholo said.
He also endorsed a remark attributed to the Oba of Benin that “you don’t change a working President.”
Okpebholo said he believed the Federal Government’s economic reforms would eventually yield the results being promised, insisting that Edo State and Nigeria were in “safe hands”.
His comments placed three issues — petrol prices, economic reforms and the 2027 political contest — within the same conversation.
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For the governor, the higher cost of living Nigerians are experiencing should be viewed against what he considers longer-term economic gains.
But beyond the political argument, the petrol comparison also highlights a familiar question in Nigeria’s economic debate: whether the price of a commodity should be judged simply by its naira equivalent or by what an average citizen can actually afford with their income.
Okpebholo’s answer was clear — Nigeria is still in the take-off phase, and he believes the country has yet to reach its promised cruising altitude.