… NNPC says ruling clears legal uncertainty over Board decisions

Oredola Adeola

The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, has nullified the Federal High Court’s April 2023 judgment that annulled Senator Ifeanyi Araraume’s removal as Non-Executive Chairman of the NNPC Board and awarded him ₦5 billion in damages.

This was revealed in a statement obtained by Advisors Reports from the management of NNPCL following the judgment delivered by the Appeal Court on August 8, 2025.

According to the statement, the Appeal Court agreed with NNPC Ltd.’s position that the Federal High Court’s earlier decision was delivered in error, noting, among other points, that the claim was statute-barred.

The NNPC stated that the Court of Appeal’s judgment spared NNPC Ltd. a massive financial payout and removed a legal risk that could have invalidated all decisions of the Board since 2022.

Advisors Reports’ checks showed that former President Muhammadu Buhari, in September 2021, appointed Senator Araraume as Non-Executive Chairman of NNPC Ltd. following the incorporation of the company, in compliance with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which transformed the company into a Companies and Allied Matters Act 2010-regulated entity.

The then-President later, in a letter dated January 17, 2022, with reference number SGF.3V111/86, removed Araraume and replaced him with Mrs. Margret Okadigbo.

This development led to a lawsuit instituted by Araraume, and in April 2023, the Federal High Court ruled that his removal was illegal, awarded him ₦5 billion in general damages, and ordered his immediate reinstatement.

The judgment was later appealed by NNPC’s counsel, Mr. Oluseye Opasanya, SAN, who argued that the suit was filed outside the statutory period and that the removal was within the appointing authority’s powers under the PIA and CAMA.

At the time of filing this report, neither Senator Araraume nor his lead counsel, Mr. Chris Uche, SAN, had publicly commented on or responded to the judgment.