We’ll protest any judgement voiding Ararume’s removal as NNPC board chair, vows CSOs
The Coalition of Civil Society Groups for Good Governance (CCSGGG) has threatened to protest any judgement nullifying the removal of Ifeanyi Ararume as a non-executive chairman of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
Recall that, last Tuesday, a Federal High Court in Abuja, had awarded N5 billion in damages in favour of the former senator representing Imo north.
Recall also that President Muhammadu Buhari had appointed Ararume as board chairman of the corporation in September 2021, but he was later 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 Presidency said that the Abuja High Court judgement will be be appealed and that steps had already been taken to that effect.
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.”
