UNIZIK VC insists appointment not annulled by FG

The public has been urged to ignore the letter allegedly from the Federal Ministry of Education, which states that it has revoked Prof. Bernard Odoh's appointment as the VC of Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Awka, Anambra State.

After a successful interview that same day, the university's governing council last Tuesday named Odoh, a professor of geophysics, as the seventh substantive VC of the institution.

On behalf of the Permanent Secretary, the Federal Ministry of Education, however, claimed in a letter circulating in the media that was addressed to the council and allegedly signed by a Mrs. R.G. Ilyasu that it had deemed Odoh's appointment to be "null and void," stating that all procedures in the appointment did not adhere to the due process.

But Charles Otu, the Personal Assistant on Media and Publicity to the embattled VC, in a statement signed and issued to journalists on Monday, insisted that due process was meticulously observed throughout Odoh ‘s appointment.

Otu said that based on Nigeria’s extant laws, the ministry only oversees general educational standards across the nation, but does not have the legal power to direct or control the daily decisions of a university’s council, including who should be appointed as a VC.
The Nnamdi Azikiwe University Act, Cap 139 (as amended), LFN 2004 outlines the statutory requirements that the university has correctly claimed all of its acts were informed by and comply with.

The Registrar, who also serves as the Council's Secretary, responded that the council's actions were entirely compliant with Section 6(a) of the Nnamdi Azikiwe Standing Orders of the Governing Council, which states that a quorum of five members must be present, including at least one of the following: the Vice-Chancellor or his Deputy, one Visitor appointee, and one Senate appointee.

In response to claims of due process violations, the registrar further made it clear that due process was strictly followed throughout the Vice-Chancellor's and Registrar's appointments.

For additional clarification, it is important to highlight that our current regulations clearly define the responsibilities of a tertiary institution's governing body in comparison to those of the parent Ministry of Education and the visitor. The university governing council is a special and important part of the management and governance of universities in Nigeria.

According to Otu, the council of the university is a "autonomous governing body" with the authority to decide on its own "based on what's best for its students, staff, and academic goals."

"The appointment has already been made, which for now has not been expressly faulted by any law of our land, appears to be breeding some bad blood and unsettling the nerves of some possible big spenders among our Igbo brothers, including some fifth columnists suspected in the nation’s ruling party.

“All parties in the matter, are, therefore, admonished to give peace a chance while members of the general public are urged to disregard, in its entirety, all the news and false documents purporting the declaration of the actions of the UNIZIK governing council as null and void,” among others.

As part of the activities for the Seventh Substantive Vice-Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka Professor Benard Ifeanyi Odoh, to resume his office, a "mass service shall be held on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, and members of the public are cordially invited to witness the events marking the first day in office of the new Vice-Chancellor," the statement also stated.