By Our Reporter
Provost of the Federal College of Fisheries and Marine Technology, Lagos, Dr. Chuks Onuoha, has said that only President Bola Tinubu has the powers to remove him from office.
The provost spoke against the backdrop of the controversy that, having been appointed for a five-year term of office in July 2019, his term of office lapsed in July 2024.
The media has been awash with reports that staff and students of the school have been restive over Onuoha’s refusal to, in the absense of a formal directive from the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, hand over to the most senior officer of the college.
Dr. Onuoha was appointed Provost of the college in July 2019 for a term of five years. At the time, the college was under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. However, after President Tinubu created the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy in August 2023, the new ministry took over supervision of the college.
Onuoha told a select group of jounslists in Lagos that, since his tenure began counting from August 2023 when the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy took over control of the Federal College of Fisheries and Marine Technology.
“Those calling for my removal are, with due respect, ignorant. Yes, I was appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari in July 2019 for a five-year tenure. However, by law, my tenure starts counting from August 2023 when the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy was created.
“If you want to start counting my tenure, it should be from August 2023, meaning that I will remain in office until August 2028. Whoever is not comfortable with that may chose to petition President Tinubu, who, in my humble opinion, is the only person empowered by law to remove me from office,” he declared.