The Allied Peoples Movement, APM, has demanded the resignation of Edo State Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, over his comparison of petrol prices in Nigeria and the United Kingdom, accusing him of ignoring the disparity in earnings and purchasing power between citizens of both countries.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Abubakar Yusuf, the party condemned the rise in petrol prices to more than N1,500 per litre and criticised Okpebholo for using the UK price to justify the cost of fuel in Nigeria.
“The APM strongly condemns the punishing increase in the pump price of fuel to over N1,500 per liter at a time Nigerians are eagerly expecting a reduction, describing it as a brutal assault on the citizens by Tinubu administration,” Yusuf said.
The party argued that the comparison overlooked the wide income disparity between Nigerian and British workers, noting that Nigeria’s N70,000 minimum wage could not be meaningfully compared with earnings in the UK.
“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 party also cited differences in the transport systems of both countries, saying Nigerians contend with an informal and expensive public transport system, unlike the structured and regulated system in the UK, which it said receives government subsidies.
Comparing Nigeria with other oil-producing countries, the APM said petrol was considerably cheaper in Libya and Iran.
