Appeal Court Upholds NNPCL’s Victory, Quashes N5bn Damages to Ararume

|By Adejumo Adekunle

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has secured a major legal win after the Court of Appeal overturned a Federal High Court judgment that nullified the removal of Senator Ifeanyi Ararume as its non-executive chairman.

The judgment, delivered on August 8, 2025, spared the state-owned oil giant from paying N5 billion in damages and eliminated a legal threat that could have invalidated all board decisions made since 2021.

In April 2023, the Federal High Court had ruled in Ararume’s favour, ordering the NNPCL to pay the compensation and reinstating his appointment. However, the Appeal Court ruled that the earlier decision was made in error, declaring the claim statute-barred.

“This judgment sets a corporate governance precedent in Nigerian law and safeguards the validity of board resolutions crucial to the oil and gas industry’s investment and policy direction,” the company announced on Wednesday via its official X handle.

Ararume, appointed to the NNPCL board in September 2021 by then-President Muhammadu Buhari, was replaced in January 2022 by Margret Chuba Okadigbo.