Tinubu Sacks Nnamdi Azikiwe Varsity Governing Council, VC, Registrar

…Fires Pro-Chancellor Of University Of Health Sciences Otukpo

…Reshuffles Pro-Chancellors Of Two Federal Universities

President Bola Tinubu has approved the dissolution of the Governing Council of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Awka, Anambra State, and the removal of Prof. Bernard Ifeanyi Odoh, the new Vice Chancellor, and Mrs. Rosemary Ifoema Nwokike, the registrar.

A statement by Bayo Onanu­ga, Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy indi­cated on Wednesday.

He said the council, led by Ambassador Greg Ozumba Mbadiwe, included five other members: Hafiz Oladejo, Au­gustine Onyedebelu, and Engr. Amioleran Osahon, and Gen. Funsho Oyeneyin (rtd.).

The presidency explained that the sacking of the govern­ing council and officials followed reports that the council illegally appointed an unqualified vice chancellor without following due process.

After the controversial ap­pointment, the Federal Govern­ment stepped in to address ten­sions between the university’s Senate and the governing coun­cil of the 33-year-old institution.

The government expressed concern over the council’s ap­parent disregard for the uni­versity’s governing laws in its selection process.

In the same vein, Presi­dent Tinubu also approved the removal of Engr. Ohieku Muhammed Salami as the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of the Federal University of Health Sciences in Otukpo, Benue State.

The decision followed Sala­mi’s illegal actions, including suspending the vice chancel­lor without following the pre­scribed procedures.

Despite the Federal Min­istry of Education’s call for the unlawful suspension to be revoked, Engr. Salami refused to comply. Instead, he resorted to abusive and threatening be­haviour towards the ministry’s directors, including the perma­nent secretary.

The Federal Government reiterated that the primary responsibility of university councils is to ensure the smooth operation of university activi­ties in accordance with the act establishing each university.

President Tinubu warned the councils not to create dis­tractions in their universities as his government is focused on improving the country’s ed­ucation standards.

Tinubu also approved the im­mediate swap of the Pro-Chan­cellors and Chairmen of the Governing Councils for the Federal University Oye-Ekiti and Federal University Lokoja.

In this reshuffling, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN), cur­rently serving as the Pro-Chan­cellor of Federal University Lokoja, will take over at Federal University Oye-Ekiti.

Engineer Kayode Ojo, who previously held a similar posi­tion at Oye-Ekiti, will assume the role in Lokoja.

This strategic change is part of President Tinubu’s initiative to foster diversity and national cohesion in the management of the country’s universities, Onanuga said.