The Coalition of Civil Society Groups for Good Governance (CCSGGG) says it will protest the recent reinstatement of Ifeanyi Ararume, as a non-executive chairman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
In a statement issued on Saturday by the coalition’s leader, Dominic Ogakwu, the organisation also called on the State Security Service (SSS), to release their security report involving Mr Ararume, claiming that the former senator is not fit to hold office.
The group explained that the report would give a clear indication why Mr Ararume was dropped from the board of the NNPCL.
Justice Inyang Ekwo of the federal high court in Abuja had nullified the removal of Mr Ararume as a non-executive chairman of the NNPCL.
The judge also in its ruling awarded N5 billion in damages in favour of Mr Ararume who is also a former senator for Imo north.
In September 2021, President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Mr Ararume to the corporation’s board of directors. However, he was removed in January 2022 and replaced by Margaret Okadigbo.
But in the statement, the group noted that the court ought to take cognisance of the country’s “national interest”.
It further described the judgement as an act of “usurpation of the powers of the president”.
“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,” Mr 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.”
