The Managing Director of Rokel Commercial Bank, Dr. Walton Ekundayo Gilpin has on Friday issued a response to allegation of him holding a fake PhD degree.

The response was him setting the record straight over the allegation brought up by whistleblower, Dr. John Idriss Lahai.

On Wednesday, Dr. John Idriss Lahai issued a report titled: On the matter of “the People” vs “Ekundayo Walton Gilpin,” the Managing Director of Rokel Commercial Bank.
Lahai went on to call on all well-meaning and patriotic Sierra Leoneans to join him to peacefully demand compliance from Ekundayo Walton Gilpin, to submit the original and photocopies of his PhD — which he had in International Relations, awarded to him by Open University in 2013.

“It is either he submits the original and photocopies of this alleged PhD degree certificate or he resigns his MD position,” the whistleblower asserted.

“It is the presence of fake degrees and bogus “Dr. titles” within our banking system that has contributed to financial poverty (in most households) and the uncontrollable levels of inflation, amid the disastrous consequences of having a currency (the Leone) that continues to depreciate — with no sign that this depreciating trend will slow or stop any time soon,” he added.

Dr. Lahai further revealed the Curriculum Vitae (CV), Dr. Gilpin presented to the Central Bank Governor, Professor Kelfala Kallon.

“I have your incomplete file (incomplete because you did not include copies of your alleged PhD certificate),” he stated.

The CV is posted below.

In response, The Managing Director of Rokel Commercial Bank, stated that his attention was drawn to the social media post, demanding that he produces the original copy of his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Degree Certificate from the Open University or resign for his position as Managing Director of Rokel Commercial Bank.

“I do not in any way wish to defend my qualification on social media or rather serve as an impediment in the fight against intellectual dishonesty which is a noble course if our nation should restore its dignity as the Athens of West Africa. I will out of respect for the general public and my natural right to be heard make certain clarifications,” Dr Gilpin noted.

He added that, “Firstly, my appointment as Managing Director of Rokel Commercial Bank was not predicated on any PhD qualification as portrayed by the author of the said post. Same was not a prerequisite qualification for the position I occupy. Any suggestion that my employment as Managing Director was influenced by a PhD is untenable. My appointment was exclusively based on the requisite qualification and experience and other key performance indicators in the banking industry both within and without Sierra Leone.”

“Secondly, I hold a B Sc in Economics from Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone (1989), M Sc in Economic Policy Management from Columbia University, New York (1997) and several post graduate professional development trainings in Macroeconomic Policy and Management, Public Debt and Financial Management, Computer System development and maintenance etc. I am also a Fellow of the International Professional Managers Association (IPMA). I served in several capacities, either as a consultant or permanent staff in Sierra Leone and in the diaspora with multilateral financial institutions such as the European Union, International Monetary Fund, Macroeconomic and Financial Management Institute of Eastern and Southern Africa (MEFMI), West Africa Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM), African Development Bank (AfDB), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Crown Agents, Commonwealth Secretariat, Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation, Commonwealth Service Abroad Programme and the Bank of Sierra Leone. I worked in over 35 countries globally,” Dr. Gilpin added.

He went on to state that in his quest for personal academic edification, he decided to pursue studies in a different discipline at the Open University (Commonwealth – CoU) in 2013.

As a student of the said institution my business was to study for the sake of knowledge acquisition. I enrolled for a PhD in International Public Policy at Aldersgate College in August 2016 and graduated in July 2019. My Research Topic for the above Ph. D was titled; “A Diplomatic Theory of International Relations and the Role of Inter-Governmental Agencies in International Diplomacy: A Case of the Commonwealth Secretariat. As it can be gleaned from the aforementioned topic, it is glaring that it has nothing to do with Banking and Finance,” the Managing Director explained.

“Meanwhile, I have received several recognitions both nationally and internationally. I remain humble of my accomplishments at the Rokel Commercial Bank where through great team work, strategic leadership we have been able to transform ‘The Bank’ from a loss making to a profit making institution. The Bank is now on an upward trajectory and has for the first time in almost a decade, paid dividend to the government and minority shareholders,” he added.

Dr. Gilpin reiterated that his qualifications and expertise are not only relevant but significantly more than sufficient to manage Rokel Commercial Bank.

“I would encourage the author of the said post to remain open minded in his “noble” quest to get rid of fake academic credentials in Sierra Leone and to do so with forthrightness, without malice and prejudice,” he asserted.