Key highlightsÂ
- Justice Inyang Ekwo has ordered the reinstatement of Ararume as the non-executive Chairman of the NNPCL
- The court also awarded N5 billion damages in favor of Ararume and nullified all decisions and resolutions of the Board of the NNPCL made in Ararume’s absence.
- The court held that President Muhammadu Buhari acted illegally in the manner in which Ararume was sacked.
An Abuja division of the Federal High Court has ordered the federal government to reinstate Ifeanyi Ararume as the non-executive Chairman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL).
Justice Inyang Ekwo gave the order on Tuesday while delivering judgment on the suit filed by Ararume. the court also awarded the sum of N5 billion naira as damages in favor of Ararume.
Justice Ekwo also nullified all decisions and resolutions of the Board of the NNPCL that were made in the absence of Ararume from 17th January 2022 till date.
How the Court ruled
Ararume had approached the court seeking an order setting aside his removal by Buhari via the letter dated January 17, 2022, with reference number SGF.3V111/86.
Delivering Judgment, Justice Ekwo held that President Muhammadu Buhari acted ultra vires, wrongful, illegal, null, and void in the manner in which Ararume was sacked.
He noted that Ararume was sacked after using his name to register NNPCL and such an act cannot stand in the face of the law.
Consequently, he ordered the NNPCL to immediately reinstate Ararume as non-Executive Chairman of the NNPCL.
He also awarded the sum of 5 billion nairas in Ararume’s favor as damages for his wrongful removal and interruption of the term of office as the non-executive chairman of the NNPCL.
Backstory
On September 19, 2021, Senator Ararume was nominated by the president as the chairman of the board of NNPC Limited.
However, The inauguration of the board and management which was scheduled for November 23, 2021, was suspended by the president.
According to Ararume in an affidavit in support of the suit, on October 20, 2021, he was appointed as a non-executive chairman of NNPC which was to initially last for a period of 5 years.
He said as a result of his appointment, he attended the 23rd World Petroleum Congress in the United States of America only for the president to inaugurate the NNPC board on January 7, 2022, with another person’s name listed in the position he was appointed.
Subsequently, in a letter dated January 17, 2022, Ararume was informed that his name had been dropped and replaced with Senator Margaret Chuba Okadigbo without any explanation to justify his removal.
Ararume averred that as a result of the president’s actions, he suffered the loss of credibility and goodwill, untold emotional, mental, and psychological trauma, and public humiliation, degradation, and embarrassment.
In the suit, Ararume demanded the sum of N100 billion in damages for his wrongful removal, disruption, and interruption of his term of office as non-Executive Chairman of the NNPC.
Ararume asked the court among other issues to determine whether the president has the right to remove him without compliance with the provisions of the law.
Other reliefs
He asked the court for an order setting aside his removal by Buhari via the letter dated January 17, 2022, with reference number SGF.3V111/86.
He also asked the court to nullify and set aside all decisions and resolutions made by the NNPC board in his absence to date. He prayed for another order restraining the defendants from removing his name as Director of the Company.
He also demanded the sum of N100 billion as damages for the wrongful removal, disruption, and interruption of his term of office as non-Executive Chairman of the NNPC.
He also sought “An order of the Court reinstating him forthwith and restoring him to the office with all the appurtenant rights and privileges of the office of the NNPC non-Executive Chairman.
“A declaration that his position as non-Executive Chairman of the NNPC is exclusively governed and regulated by CAMA 2020, PIA Act 2021, and Memorandum of Association of the Company.
“A declaration that by the provisions of section 63 (3) of the PIA Act, CAMA Act, and Memorandum of Association of the NNPC, the President cannot by will remove him from office as non-Executive Chairman without following due process of the law.
This judgment will most likely be overturned at the appellate level.
First, boards can take valid decisions in the absence (or without the vote) of the chairperson, so the court’s ruling nullifying the past decisions of the NNPCL board doesn’t make legal sense.
More importantly, “cause” is not necessarily required to remove a board member. It all depends on his executive agreement, and I doubt Mr. Ararume had executed any such executive employment agreement.
Furthermore, if there’s a statutory process for removing directors, there must also be one for appointing directors. Doubtful that was followed either, and accordingly Mr. Ararume’s “appointment” is legally null and void.