Okpebholo Compares UK Petrol Prices, Blames Jonathan’s Opponents for Tinubu’s 2027 Challenge

Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo has combined two very different arguments in defence of President Bola Tinubu: one about petrol prices in Britain and another about political opponents allegedly regrouping ahead of the 2027 election.

And the two claims deserve to be examined separately.

Speaking in a viral video, Okpebholo said he had travelled to London and decided to check the price of petrol. His conclusion was striking. After conversion, he said, one litre cost about ₦3,000 in the United Kingdom.

“We are doing very well here,” he declared.

The arithmetic is not the strangest part.

The economic comparison is.

Yes, £1.74 is more than ₦3,000

Available UK price data put average petrol at about £1.74 per litre on September 24. At the prevailing exchange rate, that converts to more than ₦3,000.

Nigeria’s latest listed pump prices were around ₦1,385 per litre in Lagos and ₦1,430 in Abuja, although prices vary by location.

So if the governor’s argument is simply that a litre of petrol costs more in naira after converting the UK price, the arithmetic is straightforward.

But that is where the comparison should stop.

A price is not an income

The real economic question is not simply: How many naira does one litre cost?

It is: How much of an average person’s income does one litre consume?

That is a completely different question.

A British petrol price converted into naira does not tell Nigerians whether British motorists are finding fuel more affordable than Nigerians are.

It does not account for differences in wages.

It does not account for taxes.

It does not account for household purchasing power.

It does not account for public transport.

And it certainly does not measure Nigeria’s cost-of-living pressure.

So the governor’s calculation may be correct while the conclusion drawn from it remains economically incomplete.

That distinction matters.

Then the speech moved to 2027

Okpebholo also alleged that people who opposed former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 are now regrouping against Tinubu ahead of 2027.

He did not name the people he was referring to. He said those seeking to contest against Tinubu had previously held political power in one capacity or another.

He also argued that some of those who opposed Jonathan had resisted his plans, including his proposed Almajiri schools.

Okpebholo then declared: “There is no vacancy in Aso Rock.” He also said Tinubu’s eight years should be completed.

Those are political arguments, not established facts about what the 2027 electorate will decide.

The election itself remains a matter for voters.

Where the two arguments meet

There is, however, an interesting connection between the governor’s two arguments.

The first is essentially: Look at the price elsewhere. The second is: Look at what this government is doing.

Both are attempts to defend the Tinubu administration against criticism.

But neither argument answers the central economic question facing ordinary Nigerians: What has happened to their purchasing power?

A Nigerian may hear that petrol is more than ₦3,000 after conversion in Britain and still ask why transport, food, rent and other necessities remain so expensive at home.

That is not an argument about whether Britain has expensive petrol. It is an argument about affordability.

The supermarket jab

Okpebholo also said Tinubu is “not a supermarket man”, while suggesting that “supermarket people” want to rule Nigeria and should wait.

The remark was part of a broader political defence of the President.

But it adds another question to the speech. If the argument is about economic competence, then the strongest defence should ordinarily be built around measurable economic outcomes rather than the occupations or backgrounds of possible political opponents.

Political slogans can rally supporters. Economic numbers have to survive scrutiny.

The Jonathan comparison

Okpebholo’s Jonathan reference also deserves context. The 2015 election was a contest between Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP and Muhammadu Buhari of the APC.

Jonathan lost that election and conceded.

More than a decade later, Okpebholo is now presenting opposition to Jonathan as part of a political lineage that he says has resurfaced against Tinubu.

That is his political interpretation. It should not automatically be treated as a factual description of a coordinated bloc. The governor did not identify the alleged members of the group or provide evidence in the statement that they are acting as a single organised force.

The bigger question

There is nothing wrong with comparing international prices. In fact, such comparisons can be useful.

But they become misleading when exchange-rate conversion is presented as a measure of economic welfare.

If a Nigerian litre of petrol costs ₦1,430 and a British litre converts to more than ₦3,000, that tells us one thing about nominal prices.

It does not tell us who is better off.

To answer that, one would need to examine income, purchasing power, taxes, transport dependence and other household costs.

That is where the governor’s comparison needs a second layer.

And perhaps that is the real story hiding behind the viral statement. The arithmetic may be right, while the economics needs more than arithmetic. ValidViewNetwork reports.