ASUU supports Tinubu while UNIZIK VC denies dismissal

On Thursday, the Academic Staff Union of Universities welcomed President Bola Tinubu’s Wednesday decision to sack the embattled vice chancellor and the governing board of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State.

The union condemned Prof. Bernard Odoh’s appointment as the institution’s vice chancellor 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.

Similarly, the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria declared a seven-day warning strike over the controversy that trailed the nomination exercise and the exclusion of its members.

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On Wednesday, the President, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, ordered the dissolution of the governing council and removed Odoh as vice chancellor and Mrs. Rosemary Nwokike as registrar.

Odoh, however, kicked, as he lamented that the mode through which he was removed did not follow due process.

In an interview on Arise TV, monitored by our correspondent, he maintained that he would not accept his removal through a press release but rather after the recommendations of an investigating council.

“I’m not disobeying Mr. President, but it is the governing council that will recommend my sack after investigating me,” he said, adding that “Mr. President could have been ill-advised.”

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He added, “You can’t fire somebody you didn’t employ. The Visitor (Tinubu) appointed the council, and the council followed due process to engage and give me a letter. He can’t remove me through a press release.

“There was no panel of inquiry. I was not appointed through a press release but rather by a constituted authority that followed a straightforward procedure.”

With regards to his confirmation as a professor, Odoh said the allegation was false, saying that when the “lies and fake news” regarding his professorship came up, the then-registrar at the time he was confirmed took his records to the Sokoto State High Court for confirmation.

“What some people did was to pay somebody to remove my records from the university. The VC who appointed me still teaches at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, and he wrote my reference letter,” he added.

Odoh claimed further that his ordeal was tied to being a native of a “third-class” state, adding that he would go to the university to ensure that accreditations and activities were properly done.

“I’m from Ebonyi State. We are regarded as third-class people. People feel I’m not qualified because I come from Ebonyi State. People have ganged up to remove me at all costs,” he lamented.

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He also said the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, “jumped the gun” with regards to his sack as he (Odoh) had four pending lawsuits filed against him in different courts.

“Those matters are yet to be determined, and now the minister jumped the gun on a matter the Federal Ministry of Education is a party to as defendants. The court hasn’t ruled on this matter. So, I don’t see a basis for all of this noise,” he noted.

The ASUU, however, insisted that Udoh’s qualification to hold the position of vice chancellor was clouded by inconsistencies in his professional history, particularly regarding his professorship claims.

Its National President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, speaking with The Punch, said Prof. Udoh was simultaneously employed as a senior lecturer at UNIZIK and a full professor at another institution, Gusua, in 2015.

The union raised concerns about discrepancies in his academic trajectory, noting that Odoh was reassessed for an associate professorship at UNIZIK in 2019, despite previously holding the title of professor at Gombe State University, Gusau.

These irregularities, he said, should have been flagged during the initial screening process by the governing council.

“Our position as a union of intellectuals is that any process leading to appointing a vice chancellor or any other government position, whether ministerial or otherwise, should be based on merit, not sentiment, ethnicity, or any other consideration.

Source: Punch