Former Vice-Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Prof. Bernard Odoh, has alleged that indigenes of Ebonyi State are treated as “third-class” people in parts of Igboland, claiming that his own experience was shaped by his state of origin.

Odoh made the remarks while defending his appointment as the university’s vice-chancellor and challenging his removal from office in November 2024.

“I’m from Ebonyi State. We are regarded as third-class people. People feel I’m not qualified because I come from Ebonyi State. People have ganged up to remove me at all costs,” Odoh was quoted as saying.

He also alleged that fellow Igbo had attacked him over his appointment and academic qualifications, arguing that his removal was connected to intra-ethnic rivalry rather than the issues raised against his appointment.

Odoh had been appointed the seventh substantive Vice-Chancellor of UNIZIK by the university’s Governing Council in October 2024 after a selection process involving other candidates.

However, on November 20, 2024, President Bola Tinubu dissolved the university’s Governing Council and removed Odoh and the institution’s Registrar, Rosemary Nwokike. The decision followed controversy over the process through which Odoh was appointed and questions raised about his professorial status.

At the time, Odoh rejected the allegations against him and maintained that he had been duly appointed. He argued that the university’s Governing Council was responsible for recommending the removal of a vice-chancellor and said the matter was already before the courts.

“I cannot be removed through a press release,” he said, insisting that the Federal Ministry of Education had acted before the courts determined the disputes surrounding his appointment.

The controversy over his professorship was subsequently taken to the National Industrial Court. In 2025, the court affirmed Odoh’s professorial status and ordered that his rights and entitlements be restored, with the judgment later prompting calls from some UNIZIK students for the Federal Government to reinstate him as vice-chancellor.

Despite that development, UNIZIK appointed Prof. Ugochukwu Stanley Bond Anyaehie as its substantive Vice-Chancellor in November 2025.

Odoh’s comments have resurfaced on social media, where a post carrying the statement attracted renewed attention on October 2, 2026. The wording currently circulating online appears to relate to his earlier remarks during the controversy surrounding his removal from UNIZIK, rather than a newly issued statement.