Presidency didn’t follow due process, says sacked UNIZIK VC

The sacked Vice-Chancellor of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, Prof Bernard Odoh, has said due process wasn’t followed in the mode through which he was removed as the institution’s VC.

Odoh’s statement on Thursday followed  his sacking and that of the institution’s governing council over his purported “illegal” appointment.

In a statement issued on Wednesday by Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, said the Federal Government needed to wade in to address brewing tensions.

“The sacking of the governing council and officials followed reports that the council illegally appointed an unqualified vice-chancellor without following due process.

“After the controversial appointment, the Federal Government stepped in to address tensions between the university’s Senate and the Governing Council of the 33-year-old institution.

“The government expressed concern over the council’s apparent disregard for the university’s governing laws in its selection process,” read the statement.

However, Odoh, in an interview on Arise TV, maintained that he won’t accept his removal through a press release but rather after the recommendations of an investigating council.

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

“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 which followed a straightforward procedure,” he added.

With regards to his confirmation as a Professor which had come up as another debate, 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 as a Professor, took his records to the Sokoto State High Court for confirmation.