Ayensu-Danquah blasts GTEC boss of spreading fake news over academic title

Deputy Health Minister and Essikado-Ketan MP, Grace Ayensu-Danquah, has accused the Director-General of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), Professor Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai, of spreading “fake news” to tarnish her academic reputation.

In a social media post on October 26, 2025, Ayensu-Danquah claimed the GTEC head acted in bad faith and disregarded due process in reviewing her credentials.

“You use fake news, misinformation and disinformation in an attempt to damage extremely hard-earned, unblemished, stellar academic credentials for cheap political gain instead of performing your duties with due diligence,” she stated.

She further alleged that Prof Abdulai relied on unverified online sources and engaged in unethical practices.

“You use information obtained on social media to perform high-level, complex academic exercises and send a quack board chair to extort,” she wrote, adding, “No due diligence, no due process, no meeting in person, no meeting of any panel of experts, zero proper evaluation by properly laid-down procedures. Just bullying, conjecture, and ad hominem attacks.”

Her comments followed a GTEC directive cautioning her against using the title “Professor,” asserting that she did not meet Ghana’s academic requirements for the designation.

According to GTEC, a verification exercise revealed discrepancies between Ayensu-Danquah’s claim of being an Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of Utah and the institution’s records. A letter from Prof W. Bradford Rockwell, Vice Chair for Academic Affairs in the Department of Surgery at the University of Utah, indicated that Ayensu-Danquah served as an Adjunct Assistant Professor, a non-tenure-track position equivalent to a part-time lecturer in Ghana.

The Commission therefore warned that continued use of the title could amount to public deception.

Ironically, GTEC’s caution emerged shortly after a Right to Information petition was filed questioning the authenticity of Prof Abdulai’s own academic qualifications.

The petition, submitted by Kwame Simpe Ofori on October 24, 2025, requested detailed verification of Abdulai’s credentials. GTEC later responded with a statement detailing his educational background and affirmed his full qualification for the Director-General role.