I can’t be removed through press release as UNIZIK VC, says Odoh

Odoh clarified that he is qualified for the position of VC. He added that appointment as the administrative head of the varsity followed due process and it was not through a press statement. Hence, his dismissal cannot be through such.

Odoh further expressed that the case is still in court and he cannot be fired through a press statement. He said while speaking on Arise Television on Thursday, “The minister jumped the gun. The court has not ruled on this matter. I cannot be removed through a press release.

“There was no panel of inquiry. I was not appointed through a press release. The visitor (Tinubu) has not invited me to hear my side of the story.”

“I’m qualified for this position. Three assessors assessed me. I became a professor on October 1, 2015.

“I applied for the position. I applied and was appointed. I’m not imposing myself on the institution. But the issue of not being a professor is all lies. People paid to remove my records from a university.

He added that he is not disobeying Tinubu, “but it is the governing council that will recommend my sack.”

The Ebonyi state indigene said people refer to indigenes of the state as third-class people, hence “people feel I’m not qualified because I come from Ebonyi state,” he said.

He noted going to the university to ensure that activities and accreditation go on. “No vice-chancellor, no registrar, no governing council?

“People have ganged up to remove me at all costs. 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.

“Mr President must have been ill-advised. He can remove me but only through the council. “The governing council is being punished for following due process to appoint me. I don’t know the offence I have committed.”

Tinubu on Wednesday dismissed Odoh, and Rosemary Ifoema Nwokike, the Registrar of UNIZIK. He also dissolved the governing council of the varsity.

The decision was announced by the Special Adviser to the President on Information & Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement.

The dissolution follows reports of the council’s illegal appointment of an unqualified vice-chancellor, bypassing proper procedures and regulatory guidelines.

The council, led by Ambassador Greg Ozumba Mbadiwe, and comprising five other members, has now been dismissed for failing to adhere to the necessary process in key academic appointments.