‘Appointment of Odoh as UNIZIK’s VC in total compliance with relevant laws – Otu

By Uchenna Okeh

The office of the Vice chancellor, Nnamdi Azikwe University on Monday insisted that the appointment of Prof Bernard Odoh as VC, is in total conformity with the provisions of Section 6 (a) of the Nnamdi Azikiwe Standing Orders of the Governing Council.

The varsity made this known in a statement signed and made available to newsmen by the personal assistant, Media and Publicity to the vice chancellor, Charles O. Otu,

Otu, however called on the general public to ignore the falsehoods that has been flying day and night, alleging that the Federal Ministry of Education in a letter dated November 1st, 2024 and addressed to the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka voided the appointment of Prof. Benard Ifeanyi Odoh as the 7th Vice-Chancellor of the premier institution.

Otu emphasized that the Management officially clarified the Ministry of Education and any other body, on matter or any enquiry regarding the processes leading to the appointment of Odoh who came top among Fifteen interviewed out of the Eighteen candidates that applied for the same position or any other such positions.

He explained the Management of the university through the Registrar, R. I. Nwokike, had made thorough clarifications to the Federal Ministry of Education by attaching with facts, figures and pictorial evidences of all the processes and procedures of the University’s Senate and the Governing Council, including letters of invitations, attendance and actual representatives of appropriate authorities present during the October 29th 2024 interview and selection. 

The statement reads in part: “The institution has correctly stated that all of its actions were informed and conforms with the statutory requirements and provisions set forth in the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Act, Cap 139 (as amended), LFN 2004. The Registrar who doubles as the Secretary to the Council had in a letter dated the same day sufficiently replied the Federal Ministry of Education that the actions of the Council were in total conformity with the provisions of Section 6 (a) of the Nnamdi Azikiwe Standing Orders of the Governing Council which stipulates that the quorum requirements which mandates the presence of five members, including at least one of the following: The Vice-Chancellor or his Deputy, one appointee of the Visitor and one appointee of the Senate.

“The Registrar had also in response to allegations of violations of due process further clarified that due process was meticulously observed throughout the appointment for both the Vice-Chancellor and the Registrar. Also for further clarification and possible enlightenment, the attention of the general public must be drawn first and foremost to the fact that our extant laws clearly specified the roles of the Governing Council of a tertiary institution vis-a-vis those of the Visitor and the parent’s Ministry of Education. In Nigeria, the University’s Governing Council plays a unique and critical role in administration and governance of universities. 

It’s a special body that has been legally granted the authority to oversee the university’s operations, including making key decisions about policies, finances, and appointments—such as choosing a Vice-Chancellor, (VC). This council is designed to function independently, separate from direct control by outside bodies, including the Federal Ministry of Education.

“We must understand that under our existing law, the University Council is established to make decisions in the best interest of the University without external interference. Therefore, the Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Act 2003, also known as the Universities Autonomy Act No. 1, 2007, asserts this autonomy by stating that the council’s powers shall be exercised as provided in the law and statutes of each university, and that establishment circulars inconsistent with these laws shall not apply to the universities.

“While the Ministry of Education, including the National Universities Commission, NUC oversees general educational standards across the nation, it does not have the legal power to direct or control the daily decisions of a university council, including who should be appointed as a Vice-Chancellor. 

“The Council works within a structure of University Laws, Rules and Regulations that guide its decisions. It is therefore safe to conclude that the relationship between the University’s Governing Council and the Ministry of Education is structured by law to be respectful, yet separate. Therefore, when the Council reaches a decision, such as appointing a new Vice-Chancellor (VC), (as it has done in the instant case of NAU), it communicates this decision to the Ministry as a form of official notification. This is a requirement for transparency and coordination, not for approval or control. 

“It can be correctly deposited that the contrived misinformation and awkward desperation of some of those who died or whose preferred candidate(s) were unsuccessful in the race, though ordinarily common in an academic environment, is now getting unhealthy and distracting. Some of the suspected sponsors of these falsehoods that have been flying day and night since the official announcement of Odoh- a Scholar who has distinguished himself in many publications and several other areas of competence and capacities within the University Community and even beyond now seems to be taken too far.

“The appointment which for now has not been expressly faulted by any Laws of our land appears to be breeding some bad bloods and unsettling the nerves of some possible big spenders among our Igbo brothers, including some fifth columnists suspected in the nation’s ruling Party. Could it be all about the sentiments of resentment against the average Ebonyi man by the rest of their brothers, particularly the Anambra man? Is this not already degenerating and becoming very unhealthy for a temple of knowledge in the mould of a premier institution like Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka which ordinarily should have the best from anywhere in the world to pilot its affairs? 

The management, however called on all parties in the matter 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. Rather, and in compliance with the  recent circular of the Management of the institution which informed on it’s website that a high Mass service shall be held on Tuesday,  5th November, 2024 as part of activities for the resumption of office of the Seventh Substantive Vice-Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka Professor Benard Ifeanyi Odoh”:he stated.