By Gideon Njoku
Even though he was never sworn-in or inaugurated as the non-Executive Chairman of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, a former Senator from Imo State, Ifeanyi Ararume, has sued the Federal Government over what he described as his unlawful removal as the Chairman of the NNPC Board by President Muhammadu Buhari.
It is not known in what capacity Ararume sued the the Federal Government, but he is asking for a whopping N100bn, and has assembled some of the best brains in the legal profession to see that he gets the money.
Ararume had been announced as the Non-Executive Chairman of the then newly but yet to be taken off NNPC Ltd. But in a letter dated January 17, 2022, he was dropped.
His choice to the high profile office shocked not a few people as well as gladdened the hearts of many, especially in his native Imo State where he has suffered series of political disappointments.
The appointment was, therefore, seen as a compensation for a man, who at the time, again lost another election to the Senate. But many were surprised because, at the time too, he was not in the good books of the main leadership of the recognized faction of his Party, the All Progressives Congress, APC. He was in the Senator Rochas Okorocha Camp which members had refused to reinvalidate their membership of the Party.
As far as the faction loyal to Governor Hope Uzodinma was concerned, Ararume was no longer, technically at the time, a member of the APC.
When he was appointed, therefore, his faction celebrated it no end, as they saw it as a humiliation of the Governor. The advert spaces bought to congratulate him, especially, in the very vibrant local newspapers in the State, told the story.
But suddenly, the story turned awry. On the eve of the inauguration of the Board by the President, it was aborted, and so was the celebration planned by Ararume and group.
No reason was given for the abortion of the ceremony.
Weeks later, when President Buhari inaugurated the Board, Ararume’s name was conspicuously missing. The President dropped him. And in his place, Senator Margery Okadigbo, the cerebral wife ot the equally cerebral former late Senate President, Chuba Okadigbo, and a Buhari friend was appointed as non-Executive Chairman. Until her elevation to the Chairmanship position, Mrs Okadigbo, a lawyer, was named as a Board member.
Again, no reason was given. But in a write-up, main Presidential Spokesperson, Femi Adesina described Margery’s elevation as an appreciation of friendship by the President.
Suddenly feeling humiliated the way his name was publicised and dropped, Senator Ararume thinks he deserves some compensation if not an explanation. He also wants his removal nullified.
In the suit, FHC/ABJ/691/2022 filed on his behalf on Wednesday by Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SANs, Chief Chris Uche, Ahmed Raji, Mahmud Magaji, Ogwu James Onoja, K.C.Nwufor and Gordy Uche, Senator Ararume is claiming damages, according to report in Daily Telegraph, he suffered by “the alleged unlawful and unconstitutional ways and manner he was removed as the NNPC Chief after using his name to incorporate it.”
He presented four issues for determination by the Court. They include: “Whether in view of the provisions of the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the NNPC, Companies and Allied Matters Act 2010, and the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, the office of the non-Executive is not governed and regulated by the stated by the stated provisions of the law.”
The Senator, also, wants the Court to determine “whether by the interpretation of section 63 (3) of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, the President can lawfully remove him as non-Executive Chairman of the NNPC for any reason outside the provisions of the law.”
For the records, Ararume is still a chieftain of the APC.
