I Can’t Be Dismissed Through a Press Statement, Says Sacked UNIZIK VC in Response to Presidency

I Can’t Be Dismissed Through a Press Statement, Says Sacked UNIZIK VC in Response to Presidency

Professor Bernard Odoh, the recently sacked Vice-Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, has expressed his dissatisfaction with the manner of his removal, insisting that it did not follow due process.

Odoh’s comments come after he and the university’s governing council were dismissed following claims of his “illegal” appointment.

A statement issued on Wednesday by Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, indicated that the Federal Government was stepping in to address the growing tensions surrounding the issue.

However, Odoh, in an interview on Thursday, asserted that he would not accept his removal through a press release, but rather through the recommendations of an investigative council.

He said, “I am not disobeying the President, but it is the governing council that is authorized to recommend my dismissal after conducting an investigation,” adding that “Mr. President may have been misadvised.”

“You cannot dismiss someone you did not appoint. The Visitor (President Tinubu) appointed the council, and the council followed due process in offering me the appointment letter. He cannot remove me through a press release.”

“There was no inquiry panel. I was appointed by a constituted authority, which followed a clear and proper procedure,” he concluded.