Tamale, June 13, 2025 — A senior high school teacher in the Northern Region has petitioned President John Dramani Mahama to dismiss a request seeking the removal of Dr. Rashid Tanko Computer, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC), describing it as a politically driven attempt to tarnish the image of a government appointee.

Sharif Shani Sagyeldoo Amadu, an economics teacher at Bimbilla Senior High School, submitted a formal petition to the Jubilee House urging the President to reject allegations made by Odeneho Kwaku Takyi, a known critic of the current administration and member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

The original petition accuses Dr. Tanko of academic fraud over a PhD obtained from Kingsnow University, an institution alleged to be unaccredited.

In his counter-petition, Mr. Amadu dismissed the allegations as “inconsistent, biased, and lacking legal merit,” arguing that the petitioner’s interpretation of academic recognition and fraud was flawed.

“Obtaining a PhD from an unaccredited university does not automatically make the degree fake or fraudulent,” Amadu wrote.

He emphasized that the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) merely instructed Dr. Tanko to stop using the academic title “Dr.” — not that the degree was forged or illegal.

Amadu noted that GTEC’s communication was clear in its scope, stating only that the title was “unearned” by Ghanaian academic standards due to the institution’s lack of accreditation in Ghana.

“GTEC did not claim that his PhD is fake; they only asked him to refrain from using it,” Amadu asserted.

The teacher also criticized the original petition for drawing legal conclusions without a judicial process, suggesting it undermines due process and constitutional fairness.

“Making definitive legal conclusions in a petition without a thorough investigation is inappropriate,” he added.

On the issue of the Code of Conduct for Public Officials (2025), Mr. Amadu argued that because a PhD was not a requirement for Dr. Tanko’s appointment as CEO of GIFEC, the accusation of dishonesty or misconduct lacks substance.

He further refuted claims that Dr. Tanko had violated Ghana’s Criminal Offences Act, noting, “Once it is established that his PhD is not fake, only from an unaccredited university, then it stands to reason that Dr. Rashid Tanko has not committed any crime.”

In a bold claim, the petition also hinted at potential ethnopolitical motives behind the original allegations, referring to previous statements by some media personalities suggesting the Mahama government was “full of northerners.”

Amadu expressed concern that the attack on Dr. Tanko might be part of a broader agenda to target northern appointees.

As a remedy, Amadu urged President Mahama to “treat the matter with the urgency it deserves,” calling for both the dismissal of the petition and an official caution to its originator.

“It is my firm belief that you will outrightly dismiss the petition to serve as a deterrent to people who want to use their self-aggrandizement to score political points,” he concluded.

The petition was copied to several high-profile individuals, including Vice President Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin, and the Director-General of GTEC, Professor Ahmed Jinapor.

Report By: Robicon Mornahson