The Federal University Gusau, Zamfara State, has disowned Professor Bernard Odoh, the recently sacked Vice-Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State.
The institution stated that Odoh never worked as a professor at the university and described his claim to a tenured appointment as fraudulent.
Speaking to journalists in Gusau on Thursday, FUG Vice-Chancellor, Professor Muazu Abubakar, clarified that Odoh’s employment and professorship claims were based on falsified documents.
“The so-called letters of offer of appointment and confirmation as a professor, dated April 30, 2015, and November 12, 2015, are fraudulent. They were orchestrated by Dr. Odoh in collaboration with the former Vice Chancellor and Registrar of the university,” Abubakar said.
The vice chancellor explained that Odoh never completed the required employment procedures.
“Dr. Odoh did not submit a letter of acceptance for his appointment, nor did he undergo the necessary documentation. Although he was dubiously added to the payroll as a visiting staff in 2014, he never assumed duty or taught any courses,” he added.
Abubakar accused the former Registrar, Ibrahim Bawa Kaura, of aiding the fraud by certifying fake documents six years after leaving the university’s service.
“Using a forged stamp, the former registrar certified fake documents for Dr. Odoh on November 8, 2024. This shows the level of desperation to perpetrate this illegality,” Abubakar stated.
He stressed that Odoh’s claims were an attempt to legitimize his appointment as UNIZIK Vice Chancellor.
“Dr. Odoh is not, and has never been, a tenured staff member or professor at this university. His actions are the desperate antics of a drowning man trying to achieve his ambitions through fraudulent means,” Abubakar concluded.
This development follows President Bola Tinubu’s recent decision to dissolve UNIZIK’s Governing Council and sack Odoh as Vice Chancellor. Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga stated that the council’s decision to appoint Odoh was illegal and violated due process.
