An Assessment of the President’s Power to Remove a Director under the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 

With the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021 and subsequent incorporation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Limited), President Muhammadu Buhari appointed members of the Board and Management of various institutional frameworks set out under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021. This paper considers the status of NNPC Limited (NNPC) and the removal of members of the NNPC Limited Board of Directors under the PIA, the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020 and the Articles of Association of NNPC Limited (Articles). The research argues that the removal of a Chairman of the Board of NNPC Ltd is guided by extant provisions of CAMA. The work contends that the provisions of section 63(3) of the PIA and Articles on the removal of the first directors of NNPC Limited by the President conflict with the CAMA. The work critiques the recent removal of the appointed Board Chairman of NNPC by the President and concludes that the removal was wrongful termination. The research proffered recommendations for amending section 63(3) PIA and the Articles, entrenching lofty ideals of International Labour Standards in termination of appointment, and upholding corporate governance principles to guard against wrongful removal of Board members.

Keywords: Directors, Removal, Disqualification, Petroleum Industry Act, Company and Allied Matters Act, and NNPC Limited.