Ndi Okereke-Onyuike In Certificate Forgery – THEWILL Investigations

FORMER DIRECTOR GENERAL, NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE, 
MRS. NDI OKEREKE-ONYUIKE.

SAN FRANCISCO, June 01, (THEWILL) – The former Director-General of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mrs. Ndi Okereke-Onyuike is presently enmeshed in a shameful multiple-certificate forgery scandal that would embarrass the NSE, Universities of Lagos and Nigeria, corporate institutions in Nigeria and Africa, the business community, as well as the government of Nigeria, THEWILL can report.

The academic qualifications in question are her purported Doctor of Philosophy/Doctor of Finance and Securities Market at Baruch College of The City University of New York, which was founded in 1961. Although 

Baruch College via The Graduate Center of The City University of New York (CUNY) offers a Doctoral program at the Zicklin School of Business, t

he Graduate Center of The City University of New York has however affirmed that Ndi Okereke-Onyuike was never enrolled at the Business

School and so could not have been awarded a Ph.D.

This revelation questions Mrs. Okereke-Onyuike’s academic professorship awarded to her in July 2007 by the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The university awarded her Professor of Capital Market Studies based on her now discredited Ph.D claim from the Baruch College at the City University of New York.

Also, during the course of THEWILL investigation of her academic claims, we discovered that her claim that she earned a First Class Honours Degree (Magna Cum Laude) in Business Administration, Computer Science and Economics from ‘Boruch College of the City College of the City, University of New York in 1975’, is bogus, as the school is nonexistent in the USA or elsewhere in the globe.

Our extensive search at the US Department of Education and the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges, Arlington Virginia, revealed that there is no such school as ‘Boruch College of the City College of the City, University of New York.

The Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges, Arlington Virginia was created in 1967 for, “the accreditation of private, postsecondary, non-degree-granting institutions and degree-granting institutions in the United States, including those granting associate, baccalaureate and master's degrees, that are predominantly organized to educate students for occupational, trade and technical careers, and including institutions that offer programs via distance education,” according to its website.

“We have no record of the Boruch College of the City College of the City, University of New York. It doesn’t exist in our database of colleges,” a clerk at the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges told THEWILL.

THEWILL’s decision to investigate Onyuike-Okereke’s educational claims followed a declaration deposed by Vincent J. De Luca, Director of Student Services and Senior Registrar at The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York, New York State, at the request of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Onyuike had worked at the New York Stock Exchange according to her biography.

According to the declaration obtained by THEWILL, the US Security and Exchange Commission had asked the school to determine whether Ndi Okereke-Onyuike was ever enrolled in the Ph.D program in Business and if she received a Ph.D in Business from the school.

The Registrar in his reply wrote, “On January 18, 2011, I caused a search to be conducted of our student records (including graduation records) at The Graduate Center, at the request of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, to determine if Ms. Ndi Okereke-Onyuike was ever enrolled in the Ph.D program in Business and if she received a Ph.D in Business at The Center.

“A thorough search of our electronic and paper files for the names Ndi Leche Okereke, Ndi Okereke, Ndi Okereke-Onyuike and Ndi Lechi Okereke-Onyuike was conducted.

“No record was found that Ms. Ndi Okereke-Onyuike ever enrolled in the Ph.D program in Business or received a Ph.D in Business at The graduate Center.

“I certify under penalty of perjury that the foregoing statements by me are true and correct,” Vincent De Luca wrote.

(See attachment below for a PDF copy of the declaration made by De Luca.)

THEWILL Publisher, Prince Austyn Ogannah called the University to authenticate the declaration and spoke to Dr. Jane House, the Director of Publications, Office of Public Affairs and Publications, who requested that we forward her a copy of the declaration for authentication.

Her email response confirmed the authenticity of the declaration.

“The letter from Vin De Luca, Registrar at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, is indeed authenticated,” Dr. Jane House wrote in her email reply Wednesday.

In fairness to Okereke-Onyuike, THEWILL called her to hear her side of the story but she cited a court order and counsel from her lawyer barring her from commenting on any matter involving SEC, NSE and herself. She said she was in Abuja to attend the President’s inauguration and refused to state on record her true educational qualifications, but blabbed about her achievements at the NSE for over 15 minutes, then blamed her problems with the NSE and SEC on controversial Dangote Chairman Aliko Dangote. She promised to get one of her aides to speak on the certificate matter when she returned to Lagos weekend, asking us to forward a reliable contact cell number.

NSE records indicate that Okereke-Onyuike joined the bourse in 1983 as Head of Research and Infotech Department, where she rose to the position of DG in 2000.

According to her biography obtained from Bloomberg, Okereke-Onyuike attended Queen’s School, Enugu, where she passed out with African School Certificate Examination in 1965.

“She earned a First Class Honours Degree (Magna Cum Laude) in Business Administration, Computer Science and Economics from Boruch College of the City College of the City, University of New York in 1975. She also has a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from New York State University, New York, Graduate School in 1977 and a Doctor of Philosophy/Doctor of Finance and Securities Market at Baruch College of the City University of New York.

“She served as Visiting Professor for MBA, MBF and MSC classes for the University of Lagos from 1995 to 1997. She also served as Exchange Services Manager and Systems Consultant at the New York Stock Exchange from 1976 to 1983.”

Her unedited biography as published by Bloomberg reads:

“Prof. Dr. (Mrs.) Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke, OON has been Director General of the Nigerian Stock Exchange since 2000 and served as its Chief Executive Officer. Prof. Dr. (Mrs.) Okereke-Onyiuke joined as Head of Research and Infotech Department of The Nigerian Stock Exchange in 1983.

“She served as Visiting Professor for MBA, MBF and MSC classes for the University of Lagos from 1995 to 1997. She served as Exchange Services Manager and Systems Consultant at the New York Stock Exchange from 1976 to 1983. Since 2000, the Exchange has witnessed tremendous changes and growth. She oversaw the establishment of the CENTRAL SECURITIES CLEARING SYSTEM LIMITED (CSCS),a subsidiary of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, as Project Director. She serves as Chairman of Central Securities Clearing Systems Limited. She has been Chairman of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc., since June 29, 2006.

“She served as the Chairman of the African Stock Exchange Associations. She serves as a Director of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc. She serves as a Director of Ivory Merchant Bank, Cooperative and Commerce Bank and NAIRA Properties Limited. She served as member of the Board of Directors of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) from 1987 to 1990. She was part of the team that created the "The Nigerian Stock Index" and started the Stock Exchange's Authorised Clerkship Examination. She also makes extensive contributions to several INTERNATIONAL organisations and Forums including the World Federation of Exchanges and the World Economic Forum. She served as a Member of the Nigerian Accounting Standards Board and member of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group.

“She has received many distinguished awards for exceptional leadership and academic excellence, including the Goldman Award for best thesis, the foreign Students Academic Excellence Tuition Award from 1972 to 1976, and a National Award of OFFICER OF THE ORDER OF THE NIGER (OON) for distinguished service to Nation hood in 2001. She participated in Chase Manhattan Bank MBA fellow's program in 1978, and the IBM School of Computer Systems Software Management in 1979. She was awarded the Professor of Capital Market Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka in July 2007.

“She attended Queen’s School, Enugu, Where she passed out with African School Certificate Examination in 1965. She earned a First Class Honours Degree (Magna Cum Laude) in Business Administration, Computer Science and Economics from Boruch College of the City College of the City, University of New York in 1975. She also has a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from New York State University, New York, Graduate School in 1977 and a Doctor of Philosophy/Doctor of Finance and Securities Market at Baruch College of the City University of New York.”

THEWILL is following up at the New York State University Graduate School for information on her academic record, and will publish our findings in due course.
SCHOOL DEBUNKS NDI OKEREKE-ONYUIKE'S PHD CLAIM.