CSOs to protest judgement voiding Ararume’s removal as NNPC board chair

The Coalition of Civil Society Groups for Good Governance (CCSGGG) says it will protest a judgement nullifying the removal of Ifeanyi Ararume as a non-executive chairman of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.

On Tuesday, Inyang Ekwo, a judge of the federal high court in Abuja, awarded N5 billion in damages in favour of the former senator representing Imo north.

President Muhammadu Buhari had appointed Ararume as board chairman of the corporation in September 2021, but he was later sacked and replaced with Margaret Chuba Okadigbo in January the following year.

Margaret is the widow of the late Chuba Okadigbo, a former president of the senate.

The president said steps have already been taken to appeal the court verdict.

In a statement on Saturday, Dominic Ogakwu, convener of the coalition, claimed Ararume is not fit to hold office, adding that the court ought to take cognisance of the country’s “national interest”.

“We have undertaken to express our dismay by protesting in Abuja next week as the judiciary cannot be seen to overreach itself, which unfortunately, has become the common denominator over the past few weeks,” Ogakwu said.

“The political implication of what has happened in this matter is not lost on those of us that are watching events in the oil and gas sector keenly.

“After a hitch-free transition from the wholly owned government entity to a public liability company and focused administration since the unbundling, this judgement seeks to muddy the waters.

“We had imagined that the courts would take into account not just the national interest but the international dimension, and not project Nigeria as an unstable oil and gas investment destination.”