NNPCL: Group Urges FG to Obey Court Judgment on Araraume’s Reinstatement

A front-line Nigerian civil society group, Justice Now Coalition!, has called on the Federal Government of Nigeria, to consider giving effect to the judgment of the Federal High Court that reinstated Senator Ifeanyi Godwin Araraume as non-executive chairman of the Board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), instead of heading to the Court of Appeal to challenge the judgment, and prompting faceless civil society groups to be demeaning the temple of justice and the rule of law on account of the court judgment.

The group, in a statement signed by its National Convener, Comrade Tony Erha, said that obeying the judgment of the court was a better and more preferred option, in the circumstance, saying appealing the judgment should be treated as a distant alternative option.

According to the group, appealing the judgment would only dilate the matter and keep it on the front burner such that it would restrain the international oil companies (IOCs) from investing their total commitment in the country’s oil sector that has virtually been rendered tentative and unstable by the court action.

The group appealed: “The Federal Government should take the window of opportunity provided by the Federal High Court judgment to correct its mischief and put an end to the issue once and for all.

“Afterall, Senator Godwin Ifeanyi Araraume was a director in the board of NNPCL before he was simultaneously appointed as the non-executive chairman, thus enjoying the privilege of having his name in the company’s records with Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

“Araraume remains a part of the NNPCL family in the face of the law. All issues settled in his favour in the judgment can be quietly revisited and resolved in ways that there will be no losers at the end of the day.

“This is the best way to go about quick restoration of the Board of the NNPCL to normalcy. The government cannot pretend not to know that all is not well with the NNPCL, especially now with the specific order nullifying all the decisions and resolutions taken by the Board in the absence of Senator Araraume from January 17, 2022 when he was removed as non-executive chairman of the Board.

“We understand that Araraume is a committed member of the ruling All Progressives Congress. We also understand that he was an appointee of President Muhammadu Buhari, as a federal commissioner at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), where he represented the Southeast zone from 2016-2018, a position he held after he passed rigorous security checks by the Police and the Department of State Services.”