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From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) has demanded the resignation of the Edo State governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, over alleged attempts to justify the excessive cost of fuel in the country under the President Bola Tinubu administration.
The APM, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Abubakar Yusuf, said the hike in the pump price of fuel in the country at a time Nigerians were already overburdened economically was a recipe for disaster.
Okpebholo, last week stated that fuel price in Nigeria was better than in the United Kingdom (UK) where, according to him, the pump price was N3000 per litre.
However, the APM stated that it was “reckless and irresponsible for the Governor to state that Nigerians should not complain about the N1,500 per liter cost of fuel in the country because it is cheaper than an average N3000 per liter cost in the United Kingdom, without taking into consideration the per capita income and purchasing power of an average Nigerian in comparison to that of a British citizen.”
According to the opposition party, “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.
“For clarity, while an average school teacher in Nigeria earns N70,000 or less, his counterpart in the UK takes a monthly starting salary of about £2,839 (N4.9 million).
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“Also, while an average Nigerian wage earner is subjected to an informal, chaotic, heavily and expensive public transportation, the public transport system in the United Kingdom is structured, highly regulated and heavily subsidized by the British government for the benefit of citizens.”
It added that the Edo State governor failed to tell Nigerians that in other oil producing countries such as Libya and even Iran, which is currently at war, petrol is sold at an average of N41 to N52 per litre.
“It is, therefore, completely irrational and highly provocative for Governor Okpebholo to attempt to compare the situation in the UK with that of Nigeria. Such a comment from a governor is capable of triggering a widespread protest and breakdown of law and order across the country.
“This is especially coming against the backdrop of public apprehension that the comment by the Edo State governor could be a test ground of the APC administration to justify a further increase in the pump price of petrol as part of the APC’s plot to inflict more hardship on Nigerians.
“Nevertheless, the APM urges Nigerians not to despair as the 2027 presidential election affords the nation the golden opportunity to vote in a humane, transparent, people-based and efficient leadership as embodied in our presidential candidate, Seyi Makinde.
“Under a Makinde/Daura presidency and our reset agenda, the interest and wellbeing of all Nigerians will be the top priority of the government. Nigerians do not deserve this level of intolerable suffering that the APC-led administration has subjected them to given the enormous resources at the disposal of the government,” the APM stated.
