RismadarVoice Reporters
September 27, 2026
Businessman and political commentator Isaac Fayose has challenged Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo over his comparison of petrol prices in Nigeria and the United Kingdom, arguing that differences in income and purchasing power should also be considered.
Okpebholo had said during a public engagement that he recently visited London and deliberately checked the price of petrol to compare it with the cost in Nigeria.
According to the governor, converting the UK pump price into naira produced a figure exceeding ₦3,000 per litre.
“We are doing very well here. The president is stabilising the economy,” Okpebholo said while defending the economic policies of President Bola Tinubu.
Fayose, however, disputed the usefulness of comparing pump prices through currency conversion alone.
Responding in a video, he argued that wages, purchasing power, public services and general living conditions should form part of any comparison between the two countries.
Fayose cited Nigeria’s ₦70,000 national minimum wage and contrasted it with the statutory minimum hourly wage available to workers in the United Kingdom.
From April 1, 2026, the UK National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and above stands at £12.71 per hour. The statutory rate is £10.85 for workers aged 18 to 20, while eligible younger workers and apprentices receive £8 per hour.
Fayose argued that comparing the naira equivalent of UK petrol prices without similarly examining the income available to workers could present an incomplete picture of affordability.
His argument centres on purchasing power — the quantity of goods and services that income can buy — rather than the nominal price of petrol after converting currencies.
Fayose also pointed to differences in public infrastructure and services, including healthcare, electricity and transportation, arguing that these factors influence the financial burden borne by households.
The UK’s National Health Service provides many healthcare services free at the point of use, although it is funded principally through taxation and some services and items may attract charges.
The disagreement comes as petrol prices remain a significant economic issue in Nigeria following the removal of the petrol subsidy and subsequent changes in domestic and international energy markets.
Okpebholo’s argument focused on the lower nominal pump price in Nigeria when compared with the naira-converted UK price, while Fayose’s response focused on the relationship between earnings and the cost of fuel.
The two positions therefore rely on different measures: nominal price comparison on one hand and affordability relative to income and living conditions on the other.
Economists commonly use measures such as real income, purchasing power and the proportion of household earnings required to purchase essential goods when comparing living costs across countries, rather than relying solely on currency conversion.
Fayose maintained that any assessment of whether petrol is relatively expensive in Nigeria should therefore consider how much Nigerians earn and how much of their income is required to purchase the product.
