Judge Ekwo of Federal High Court in Abuja overturned Senator Ararume’s removal as the Non-Exec Chairman of the NNPC Limited Board.
The Federal High Court judge, ruled that Ararume’s dismissal by President Buhari violated NNPC Ltd and Allied Matters Act. He thus ordered Ararume’s prompt reinstatement as Non Executive Chairman of the NNPC Ltd Board. The judge ruled on Tuesday that Mr Ararume’s removal as Non-Executive Chairman of the national oil company was unconstitutional. The judge restored him to his position with full benefits and set aside all decisions made by the succeeding board. Ekwo awards N5billion in favor of Senator Ararume, stating the NNPC board chairman dismissal as illegal.
Ararume sued after being surprised by the inauguration of a board with a different non-executive chairman. He received a letter withdrawing his appointment 10 days later. He argued that his removal via letter on Jan. 17, 2022 with ref. no. SGF. 3V111/86 violated CAMA and Ararume seeks court order to return to office and N100 billion in damages.
Senator Ararume became the non-executive chairman on November 12, 2021, and attended the 23rd World Petroleum Congress in Houston. The senator pointed out that his inauguration was strictly symbolic and had no impact on his status or the status of the other directors. He expressed that the president, Muhammadu Buhari is unable to remove him from his post since the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020, Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, and the company’s Memorandum and Articles of Association oversee his office. He said he was never deemed guilty of the conditions for the dismissal of a non-executive chairman/director as outlined in the laws and regulations. He declared that he had not stepped down or died, never been bankrupt or insolvent, and had not received any medical opinions about his capacity to fulfill his role as non-executive chairman. Furthermore, he has never shown any inability to perform his duties. He urged the court to declare that Mr Buhari had no power to remove him for reasons outside those listed in Section 63(3) of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021. He filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja on 12 September, challenging his removal eight months earlier. He insisted his dismissal was unmerited and disrupted his employment.
