The sacked Vice-Chancellor of the Nnamdi Azikiwe
University, Awka, Anambra State, Prof Bernard Odoh, has tackled President
Bola Tinubu over his removal as announced in a statement by the President’s
media voice, Bayo Onanuga.
He says it is not impossible for Tinubu to sack him as
he is not the one that employed him.
According to him, there is a laid-down process that
cannot be abridged through a press statement.
In an interview on Arise TV, Odoh maintained that he
would not 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 sack 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.
“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.
He added that the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji
Alausa, “jumped the gun” with regards to his sack as he (Odoh) has 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.
Odoh claimed that his ordeal is also tied to being a
native of a “third class” state, adding that he’d go to the university to
ensure that accreditations and activities are 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.
“I am going to the university to ensure that
activities and accreditation go on. The Federal Ministry of Education is
introducing a crisis on campus. I am an alumnus of this university. It pains me
that the university is being destroyed,” he said.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities had accused
the Governing Council of the institution of failing to follow due process in
Odoh’s appointment and had demanded that the ministry dissolve the council over
acts of illegality.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by Bayo Onanuga,
the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, it stated that
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.
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