President Muhammadu Buhari has confirmed his government’s intention to appeal the court judgment that ordered the reinstatement of Ifeanyi Ararume as a non-executive chairman of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.

Buhari appointed Ararume in September 2021, but he was later removed and replaced with Margaret Chuba Okadigbo in January the following year.

Ararume, a former senator representing Imo north, had filed a lawsuit against the president, claiming that his removal was wrongful and amounted to a disruption of his term of office.

In a judgment delivered on Tuesday, the presiding judge, Inyang Ekwo, ordered that Ararume be reinstated as the non-executive chairman of the NNPC, with all rights and privileges due to him. The court also set aside all decisions made by the board after Ararume’s removal since January 2022 till date, and awarded the sum of N5 billion as damages in his favor.

In a statement on Wednesday, Femi Adesina, the presidential spokesperson, confirmed that steps have already been taken to appeal the verdict.

“President Muhammadu Buhari has taken due notice of [the] judgment by the federal high court, Abuja, restoring senator Ifeanyi Ararume as the non-executive chairman of Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL),” the statement reads.

“While the office of the attorney-general of the federation/minister for justice is yet to receive a formal copy of the ruling, the president affirms that due judicial process will be followed, and NNPCL has already taken steps to go on appeal.

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p data-reader-unique-id=”32″>“The administration respects the rule of law, and nothing will be done outside it to resolve the matter. He sues for calm from all sides involved.”