The Federal University Gusau in Zamfara State has distanced itself from Dr. Bernard Ifeanyi Odoh, the recently dismissed Vice Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka, Anambra State. The university has stated that Dr. Odoh has never been employed or appointed as a professor at their institution.
In a press conference held on Thursday, Professor Muazu Abubakar, the Vice Chancellor of Federal University Gusau, clarified that Dr. Odoh was never a professor at the institution. He further dismissed as fraudulent the documents presented by Dr. Odoh, which claimed to confirm his tenure as a professor. The letters, dated April 30, 2015, and November 12, 2015, were allegedly endorsed by the former registrar, Ibrahim Bawa Kaura, on November 8, 2024, six years after Dr. Odoh had left the university.
Professor Abubakar explained that although Dr. Odoh was briefly listed as a visiting staff member in the Department of Geology from July 2014 to August 2015, he neither assumed his duties nor taught any courses. He accused Dr. Odoh of being involved in an administrative fraud, in collusion with the former Vice Chancellor and registrar, to falsify his academic record.
“The letters of offer of tenure and confirmation of promotion, which Dr. Odoh paraded, are products of administrative fraud,” Abubakar stated, emphasizing that there was no official documentation supporting Dr. Odoh’s claims. He described the actions of the former Vice Chancellor and registrar as a violation of university rules and due process.
The university further revealed that the former registrar, who had left the institution in 2018, had impersonated the current registrar by using a fake stamp to certify the fraudulent documents. This, according to Professor Abubakar, was part of a desperate attempt to perpetuate illegality.
The university categorically stated that Dr. Odoh had never been a tenured staff member, let alone confirmed as a professor. The management of Federal University Gusau called for an end to the charade and reaffirmed its commitment to upholding the integrity of the institution.
The controversy comes in the wake of President Bola Tinubu’s recent decision to dissolve the Governing Council of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, dismissing Dr. Odoh and Mrs. Rosemary Ifoema Nwokike, the registrar. In their place, Professor Joseph Ikechebelu was reinstated as acting Vice Chancellor, and Victor Modebelu was reappointed as acting registrar.
