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See Reasons President Tinubu is Set to Dissolve UNIZIK Governing Council

Published by Tope Fakinlede on November 20th, 2024.

See Reasons President Tinubu is Set to Dissolve UNIZIK Governing Council

By Chinagorom Ugwu

President Bola Tinubu is expected to dissolve the Governing Council of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka (UNIZIK), following the controversial appointment of Professor Bernard Odoh as the institution’s new vice-chancellor, Premium Times has learned.

Professor Odoh, who was appointed on October 29, 2023, became the seventh substantive vice-chancellor of UNIZIK. He hails from Ebonyi State, where he unsuccessfully contested for the governorship seat in 2023 under the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

The Controversies Surrounding Odoh’s Appointment

The appointment of Professor Odoh has been mired in controversy, particularly concerning discrepancies in his academic credentials. Reports indicated that Odoh claimed to have served as a visiting professor at the Federal University, Gusau (FUGUS) in Zamfara State between 2015 and 2017. However, both FUGUS and the university’s chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) have denied these claims, calling them into question.

Furthermore, prior to his appointment as vice-chancellor, UNIZIK’s ASUU chapter and the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) raised concerns about irregularities in the university’s selection process, including the handling of the vacancy announcement and recruitment procedures.

Just days after Odoh’s appointment, the Federal Ministry of Education issued a memo on November 1, 2023, nullifying the appointment. The ministry criticized the UNIZIK Governing Council, led by Greg Mbadiwe, for proceeding with the appointment without involving the ministry, internal council members, and other relevant stakeholders.

In response, UNIZIK’s Registrar, R.I. Nwokike, defended the appointment, stating that the council had acted in accordance with a valid court judgment that granted them the authority to select the vice-chancellor.

Odoh, in his first public statement on the matter, insisted that the Ministry of Education lacked the authority to nullify his appointment. He further clarified that he had been appointed a visiting professor at FUGUS in 2014, later rising to the rank of full professor of applied geophysics by 2015.

ASUU has since condemned Odoh’s appointment, alongside that of Rosemary Nwokike as registrar, calling them illegal and a “mockery” of the university system. The union argued that the appointments violated established procedures, including advertisement, shortlisting,