The Federal University Gusau, Zamfara State, has disassociated itself from Dr. Bernard Ifeanyi Odoh, the recently dismissed Vice-Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka, Anambra State, asserting that he was never employed as a professor by the institution.
Addressing the media in Gusau on Thursday, Professor Muazu Abubakar, the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University Gusau, stated that documents being circulated by Dr. Odoh to substantiate his claims of tenure and promotion as a professor in the university were fraudulent.
He described the letters of appointment and promotion, dated April 30, 2015, and November 12, 2015, respectively, as products of administrative manipulation. He further alleged that these letters were falsely certified on November 8, 2024, by Ibrahim Bawa Kaura, a former Registrar of the university, six years after Kaura’s exit from the institution.
According to Professor Abubakar, inquiries have flooded the university concerning Dr. Odoh’s employment claims. He clarified that while Dr. Odoh was listed as a visiting linkage staff in the Department of Geology between July 2014 and August 2015, he neither reported for duty nor conducted any academic activities.
“The so-called appointment and promotion letters are fraudulent and devoid of due process,” Abubakar stated, adding that Dr. Odoh’s supposed employment and promotion were orchestrated by a previous vice-chancellor and registrar without adhering to established procedures.
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He further revealed that Kaura allegedly used a counterfeit university stamp to validate the falsified documents, describing the act as a desperate attempt to legitimize an illegal process.
The university categorically stated that Dr. Odoh’s claims were an attempt to exploit its name to secure the Vice-Chancellorship of UNIZIK through dubious means.
This development follows President Bola Tinubu’s dissolution of the UNIZIK Governing Council on Wednesday. The council was accused of irregularly appointing Dr. Odoh and Registrar Mrs. Rosemary Ifoema Nwokike, without following due process. The decision was announced by presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga, emphasizing the illegality of the appointments.
