The High Street Journal can confirm that a petition has been received by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) raising serious concerns over legal and policy inconsistencies in Ghana’s uniform fuel pricing regime.
This petition, according to The High Street Journal’s sources, was submitted by a former Minister for Power and former Member of Parliament, Dr. Kwabena Donkor. The former MP, who had also occupied the position of Deputy Minister in Charge of Petroleum, is calling on the NPA to reconsider its laws and guidelines on the uniform fuel price policy to streamline regulations.
Judging from the petition, it appears that OMCs running discounted prices at various selected stations within their network might be breaching sections of the laws and guidelines of the uniform price policy.
What the “Main” Law Says
In the letter dated January 27, 2026, Dr. Donkor, who served as the first Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BOST, argues that portions of the NPA’s Petroleum Products Pricing Guidelines issued on August 9, 2024, conflict with the very laws the Authority is mandated to enforce.
The petition referred to the National Petroleum Authority (Prescribed Petroleum Pricing Formula) Regulations, 2012 (L.I. 2186), as well as the broader national policy on uniform petroleum pricing.
At the heart of his concern is the principle of uniformity of ex-pump prices within the same Oil Marketing Company (OMC) network. The petitioner notes that Ghana’s petroleum pricing framework is built on a clear legal foundation that fuel sold by an OMC must be priced the same across all its retail outlets nationwide.
This, the former MP argues, is not optional but a statutory obligation, designed to prevent discrimination, ensure fairness, and protect consumers.
The Contradiction from the NPA’s Own Guidelines
According to the petition, portions of the 2024 Pricing Guidelines issued by the NPA appear to deviate from this principle.
The petition argues that Point 10 of the Guidelines, which affirms that OMCs and their retail outlets operating under sponsorship arrangements must maintain uniform ex-pump prices across their networks, consistent with prices communicated to the NPA.
The petitioner argues that this aligns squarely with L.I. 2186 and the national policy objective. The problem, he says, arises with Point 11.
Despite reaffirming uniform pricing, Point 11 allows individual retail outlets to offer discounts, provided the discounted price does not fall below the approved ex-pump price for sale by the Authority. This, the former MP says, effectively undoes the principle of uniformity, as it permits different prices within the same OMC network.
In the petitioner’s view, allowing some stations to discount while others do not introduces price discrimination within a single brand, something the law was expressly designed to prevent. He stresses that regulators cannot, through administrative guidelines, introduce provisions that contradict existing legislation.
The Remedy
To resolve the issue, the petition makes a clear request. The former minister is calling for the deletion of Point 11 from the Pricing Guidelines.
The petitioner believes that removing the provision would restore coherence between the law, national policy, and regulatory practice, and reaffirm the NPA’s commitment to uniform pricing.
The letter was also copied to the Board Chairman of the NPA and the Minister for Energy and Green Transition, underscoring the seriousness of the concerns raised.
The Bottomline
The strong background in the country’s petroleum sector makes it difficult for the NPA to gloss over.
While the NPA has not publicly commented on the petition, the issues it raises come at a time when fuel pricing practices, particularly selective discounts, are drawing increased public attention.
Whether the Authority will revisit its Guidelines remains to be seen, but the petition adds fresh pressure for clarity in how Ghana’s fuel pricing laws are interpreted and enforced.
