The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), citing the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana (ICAG)’s Chief Executive Officer, Eric Oduro Osae’s continuing use of a doctoral title that he has not earned, has revoked its recognition of the Institute with immediate effect.
The Commission ordered ICAG to stop operating as a recognized institution in a letter dated January 8, 2026, and signed by Prof. Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai, the Director-General of GTEC, stating that all certificates issued by the Institute from that date would be deemed unrecognized.
According to what GTEC characterized as a significant violation of quality assurance procedures, Oduro Osae was said in a recent media profile to have a doctorate in political economy, despite prior Commission orders telling him to cease using the academic title “Dr”.
GTEC said that in an earlier letter dated October 13, 2025, it had looked into Oduro Osae’s academic background and discovered that the doctoral degrees he presented from the Swiss Management Centre (SMC) and Universidad Central de Nicaragua (UCN) were fake and not recognized by the framework of Ghana’s tertiary education system.
The Commission claims that its inquiry revealed a number of discrepancies and anomalies in the academic records submitted, such as unexplained credit hours, ambiguous grading schemes, unconfirmed course classifications, and ambiguity about the connection between SMC and UCN in granting the degrees.
Additionally, the Commission stated that it could not resolve contradictory assertions that Oduro Osae earned a doctorate from the University of London, SMC, and UCN because none of the claims were supported by verifiable evidence.
The October 2025 letter stated, “Because of these unresolved discrepancies, the certificates from Swiss Management Centre and Universidad Central de Nicaragua are hereby declared invalid,” and instructed Oduro Osae to immediately stop using the title “Dr” in all of his professional and public appearances.
In spite of this order, GTEC claims that it has just learned of a book that profiles Oduro Osae in relation to his appointment as ICAG’s Chief Executive Officer, in which he is said to have a doctorate in political economy.
The January 8 letter said that the inclusion of this information is seen as misleading and has a negative impact on the integrity and reputation of the institution that Mr Oduro Osae now leads.
According to GTEC, its choice to revoke recognition of ICAG was subject to change if Oduro Osae and the Institute took the necessary steps to remedy the violation. The organization also ordered its Director of Corporate Affairs to include ICAG among the unrecognized institutions for the sake of transparency.
The announcement follows only a few days after ICAG named Mr Oduro Osae as the Chief Executive Officer, with his tenure beginning on January 5, 2026.
The Institute portrayed him to its members as an experienced chartered accountant, lawyer, and governance specialist, noting in a statement that he has a doctorate in political economics in addition to other academic and professional credentials.
