NNPCL Wins Appeal, Escapes ₦5bn Damages In Araraume Boardroom Dispute

The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, has overturned a Federal High Court judgment awarding ₦5bn in damages to Senator Ifeanyi Araraume over his removal as Non-Executive Chairman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.

Delivering its ruling, the appellate court upheld NNPC Ltd.’s appeal, holding that the April 2023 decision of the Federal High Court was delivered in error.

The panel agreed with NNPC’s argument that Araraume’s claim was statute-barred, meaning it was filed outside the legally permissible timeframe for such actions.

THE WHISTLER recalls that the dispute traces back to September 2021, when the late former President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Araraume as Non-Executive Chairman of the newly incorporated NNPC Ltd., following the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which transformed the state oil corporation into a Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA)-regulated entity.

Barely three months later, Araraume’s name was replaced with Margret Chuba Okadigbo in a fresh Board announcement, sparking a legal challenge.

In April 2023, the Federal High Court in Abuja held that the removal of Senator Ifeanyi Ararume as board chairman of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited is null and void.

Justice Inyang Ekwo had passed the verdict in his judgment following a N100bn suit filed by Ararume challenging his replacement by President Muhammadu Buhari when the latter constituted a nine-member board and management of the NNPC Limited in January 2022.

But in his suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/691/2022, the lawmaker had asked the court to “determine whether his replacement did not contravene provisions of the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the NNPC, Companies and Allied Matters Act 2010 and the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, amongst others.”

Ekwo held that Ararume’s removal was illegal while awarding the lawmaker N5bn as general damages.

The judge ordered the applicant’s immediate reinstatement by the federal government.

NNPC Ltd., however, appealed the decision, contending that the suit was filed outside the statutory period and that the removal was within the powers of the appointing authority under the PIA and CAMA.

In its August 8, 2025 ruling, the Court of Appeal agreed, setting aside the lower court’s orders and affirming the validity of all NNPC Board decisions made since 2021.

Reacting to the judgement, NNPC Ltd., in an official statement its issued on Wednesday, stated that the judgement of the Appellate court has spared its management from N5bn damages payout.

“It also reinforces governance stability in the national oil company and sets a precedent for corporate governance disputes in Nigeria’s public and private sectors”, the statement stated

NNPCL Wins Appeal, Escapes ₦5bn Damages In Araraume Boardroom Dispute is first published on The Whistler Newspaper