Court dismisses suit challenging appointment of Chiedu Ebie as NDDC board chair 

The federal high court in Abuja has dismissed a suit seeking to sack Chiedu Ebie, chair of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

In a judgement delivered on Thursday, Joyce Abdulmalik, presiding judge, dismissed the suit on the ground that the plaintiffs’ case had become statute-barred.

President Bola Tinubu appointed Ebie as NDDC chairman on August 29, 2023.

However, oil-producing communities in Bayelsa and Delta filed the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/28/2024 challenging  Ebie’s appointment. 

The plaintiffs alleged that contrary to the NDDC Act, Ebie was not qualified to head the board of the commission since he is not from the “oil-producing area with the highest quantum of oil production.”

Defendants in the suit include the president, the senate president, the attorney-general of the federation, the NDDC and Ebie himself.

Goodnews Gereghewei, Eddy Brayei and Jonah Engineyouwei initially filed the suit for three oil-producing communities in Ekeremor LGA of Bayelsa State — Bisangbene, Agge and Amatu1.

However, communities in Delta state later applied and were joined as plaintiffs in the matter.

In the judgment, Abdulmalik held that the case of the plaintiffs had become statute-barred having not been filed within three months after Ebie’s appointment.

The court also held that the plaintiffs failed to seek leave to apply for a judicial review of President Tinubu’s action.

The court held that since the suit was not properly initiated, it, therefore, lacked the requisite jurisdiction to grant any of the reliefs that were sought by the plaintiffs.

Consequently, it dismissed the suit and held that all the issues that were raised by the plaintiffs had become academic.