Tinuade Sanda
By Our Reporter
Controversy seems to be trailing the academic certificates of the
the immediate past Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer of the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC), Tinuade Sanda.
There are allegations of certificate forgery hanging around her.
Sanda’s ascension to the pinnacle of her career is currently being tainted with numerous academic certificates scandals
She was subsequently removed from her position in March and redeployed to WPG Ltd, the core investor that originally seconded her to the Eko Disco.
Despite the vehement pushback and media onslaught orchestrated by her supporters within the company, Sanda was successfully removed and replaced by Ms. Rekhiat Momoh.
In the wake of her removal, allegations emerged that she might have lied her way through to become EKO Disco CEO, which has seen her reportedly editing her educational profile on her LinkedIn page.
According to several reports, Sanda’s educational achievements before it was edited include obtaining a Bachelor’s in Applied Science from the Harvard Business School, which does not offer Bachelor’s degrees.
The Harvard Business School is a graduate school whereby all applicants must have at least an undergraduate degree from a recognised institution. She has now edited her claim to read Harvard Business School – Executive Education.
Sanda also claimed to have an MBA in Strategic Planning from The University of Edinburgh, Scotland but has now changed it to MBA, Strategy, Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University, which raises serious posers about her moral rectitude and the veracity of her certificates.
“She knew the difference between the two institutions but decided to make it seem she attended the more recognised and prestigious one until the truth emerged,” said a source familiar with the story.
Another damning allegation is that Sanda parades a Doctor of Philosophy, PhD in Financial Management and Entrepreneurship from one Icon University of Management Science and Technology, Benin Republic, which claims to be “recognized by Ministry of Higher Education of Nigeria.” Nigeria does not have a Ministry of Higher Education and has never had one.
Over the years, the Benin Republic had gained notoriety for selling and awarding university degrees. In December 2023, an online medium published an investigative story of how a Nigerian undercover journalist bagged a Benin Republic university degree in six weeks and participated in the one-year mandatory National Youth Service Corps programme. Consequently, the Federal Government of Nigeria suspended the accreditation and evaluation of degree certificates from Benin Republic and Togo.
The poser now is that is Ms Sanda a victim of the Benin Republic syndicate? That may be a story for another day, but for now it is end of the sorrow for the once upon a time the “most powerful woman in one of the nation’s biggest Electricity Distribution Companies.”
