Court Overturns Ararume’s Removal as NNPCL Board Chairman

Senator Ifeanyi Ararume has been reinstated as the non-Executive Chairman of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) by Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The businessman was fired and his removal by President Muhammadu Buhari on January 17, 2023, was declared illegal by the court on the grounds that the President’s action was arbitrary, illegal, and unlawful.

In a ruling on a lawsuit brought by Ararume, Justice Ekwo also awarded N5 billion in damages against Buhari and NNPCL, to be paid to Ararume as compensation for the improper termination of his employment and disruption of his appointment.

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Ararume’s immediate return to his position as non-Executive Chairman of the NNPCL was mandated by Justice Ekwo.

All decisions made by the NNPCL Board of Directors while Ararume was not present were also ruled by the judge to be invalid.

In the ways and manners in which Ararume was fired after using his name to register NNPCL, Justice Ekwo ruled that Buhari had violated the law, and that such a brazen act could not be allowed to stand in the face of the law.

Ararume had brought Buhari before the court, asking it to declare his dismissal as the chairman of the NNPC illegal, unlawful, and unconstitutional and that it was a complete violation of the CAMA law, which NNPCL was incorporated under.

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In addition to requesting that the court issue an order restoring him to his position, Ararume also sought N100 billion in damages from President Buhari for the illegal manner in which he was removed from office, which caused him harm both domestically and abroad.

After Senator Ararume was fired, it was reported that President Buhari had appointed Senator Margery Okadigbo to lead the NNPCL.