AfrOil: Objections to fuel price hikes

Fuel price hikes have sparked anger in two African countries during the last week. In Nigeria, the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) has come under fire for raising the pump price of gasoline to NGN209.61-212.61 ($0.55-56) per litre just a few weeks after pledging publicly that it would not push costs above NGN200 per litre ($0.52) in the month of March. The increase has met with a cold reception among Nigerian consumers, who are already fretting over supply shortages.

In Kenya, meanwhile, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) has pushed prices for gasoline, diesel and kerosene up in Nairobi by KES7.63 ($0.07), KES5.75 ($0.052) and KES5.41 ($0.049) per litre respectively. EPRA has attributed the increase to the rising cost of imported petroleum products, but one political party – the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) – has described them as punitive and unsupportable.