Our reporter
The Federal University Gusau (FUG), Zamfara State, has raised serious allegations against Bernard Ifeanyi Odoh, the recently dismissed Vice Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka.
FUG claims that Odoh fraudulently misrepresented his academic credentials and ties to the Institution.
At a press briefing in Gusau, FUG’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Muazu Abubakar, refuted Odoh’s claims of being a professor at the university, describing documents used to support his professorial appointment as fabricated.
“Dr. Odoh was never employed as a professor at Federal University Gusau,” Abubakar declared. “The so-called documents he parades are riddled with inconsistencies and fraud.”
The disputed documents include an offer of appointment allegedly issued in April 2015 and a promotion letter dated November 2015. Professor Abubakar revealed that these documents were supposedly certified by FUG’s former Registrar, Ibrahim Bawa Kaura, in November 2024—six years after Kaura had left office.
Further investigation revealed that Odoh was engaged briefly as a visiting linkage staff member in FUG’s Department of Geology between July 2014 and August 2015. However, Abubakar clarified that Odoh neither assumed his duties nor met the requirements for formal appointment.
“There is no record of his acceptance of the offer, statutory documentation, or even teaching responsibilities,” Abubakar noted. “Shockingly, his name appeared on the payroll without proper authorisation.”
The Vice Chancellor accused Odoh of colluding with former FUG officials to forge and certify documents in a bid to enhance his credentials. The alleged forgery involved impersonating the current Registrar and using a fake stamp to legitimise the documents.
These revelations add to the controversies surrounding Odoh’s tenure at UNIZIK. His appointment as Vice Chancellor had already been under scrutiny, prompting President Bola Tinubu to dissolve the university’s Governing Council and remove both Odoh and the Registrar, Mrs. Rosemary Ifoema Nwokike.
According to presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga, the council had flouted due process in appointing Odoh as Vice Chancellor, raising questions about the integrity of the process.
Professor Abubakar criticised Odoh’s actions as an attempt to leverage FUG’s reputation to advance his academic career, describing the entire saga as a “desperate ploy.”
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