The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), on Thursday, welcomed President Bola Tinubu’s Wednesday decision sacking the embattled vice-chancellor and the governing board of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State.
This is also as the Federal University Gusau (FUG) in Zamfara State distanced itself from Bernard Ifeanyi Odoh, the recently sacked Vice Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka, Anambra State.
FUG authorities asserted that Dr. Odoh was never employed as a professor at their institution and denounced documents supporting his claims as fraudulent.
This development comes after President Bola Tinubu dissolved UNIZIK’s Governing Council and removed Odoh, along with the Registrar, Mrs. Rosemary Ifoema Nwokike, over allegations of irregularities in Odoh’s appointment.
According to presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga, the council had failed to follow due process in appointing Odoh as Vice Chancellor.
Addressing reporters in Gusau, the university’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Muazu Abubakar, stated that Odoh was neither offered tenure nor promoted to the rank of professor.
Documents being paraded by Odoh, including a purported offer of appointment dated April 30, 2015, and confirmation of promotion dated November 12, 2015, were described as products of administrative fraud.
Professor Abubakar explained that the so-called certified copies of the documents, allegedly endorsed by the university’s former Registrar, Ibrahim Bawa Kaura, on November 8, 2024, were created six years after Kaura left the university. Abubakar accused Odoh of orchestrating the fraudulent claims in collusion with the former Vice Chancellor and Registrar of the institution.
The Vice Chancellor clarified that although Odoh had been engaged as visiting linkage staff in the Department of Geology between July 2014 and August 2015, he never assumed duty or taught any courses.
Furthermore, Odoh failed to submit an acceptance letter for the purported appointment, did not undergo statutory documentation, and his name was dubiously added to the university’s payroll.
Professor Abubakar described the entire process as a “charade” devoid of due process, claiming that the former Registrar impersonated the current Registrar and used a fake stamp to certify falsified documents.
He emphasized that there was no evidence of Odoh’s official employment or promotion to professor within the university.
The statement concluded that Odoh’s claims were desperate attempts to bolster his ambition to lead UNIZIK, using the reputation of Federal University Gusau as leverage.
ASUU Reject Odoh
ASUU condemned Prof Bernard Odoh’s appointment as the vice-chancellor of the institution by the governing council in the first instance, describing him as a candidate who did not meet the prerequisites for the position.
The recent controversy surrounding the vice-chancellor of UNIZIK sparked heated discussions as ASUU disagreed over his nomination and appointment, stating that he was not qualified based on merit and qualifications.
