The Federal University Gusau (FUG), Zamfara State, has debunked claims regarding the academic credentials and employment status of Prof. Bernard Odoh, the newly appointed Vice Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka.
In a rejoinder issued on November 19, 2024, the university refuted a report by Vanguard Newspaper(which EduTimes sourced) that alleged FUG had confirmed Prof. Odoh’s promotion to the rank of Professor of Geological Sciences as of October 1, 2015.
See the initial story below (the claims now refuted)
UNIZIK: Federal University Gusau confirms Prof Benard Odoh’s Professorship amidst controversy
The report referenced documents purportedly certified by Ibrahim Bawa Kauro, FUG’s former Registrar, and claimed they validated Prof. Odoh’s appointment and promotion.
The university’s management categorically stated that the documents in question are fraudulent, describing them as “products of administrative fraud orchestrated by Dr. Odoh in collusion with the former Vice Chancellor and Registrar of the university.”
FUG further clarified that there is no official record of Prof. Odoh’s employment with the institution. It also highlighted that the certification of the documents, allegedly done on November 8, 2024, by Kauro—who left the university’s service in 2018—was illegal and violated Section 104 of the Evidence Act of 2011.
“The so-called certified true copies of Dr. Odoh’s documents are illegal, criminal, null, and void,” the university asserted, emphasizing that the former Registrar had no authority to certify any official document on behalf of the university after his disengagement.
The management declared unequivocally that Prof. Odoh has never been a staff member, let alone a Professor, at the Federal University Gusau.
“It is clear that these actions are the antics of a desperate individual attempting to use the university’s name to bolster his ambitions,” the statement concluded.
The rejoinder aims to set the record straight amidst the ongoing controversy surrounding Prof. Odoh’s appointment as Vice Chancellor of UNIZIK.
Read also: Tinubu sacks Nnamdi Azikiwe varsity council, VC, registrar
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