The federal government has prohibited recipients of honorary degrees from prefixing the title “Dr” to their names in any official, academic, or professional context, warning that such usage now constitutes academic fraud.
Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, announced the directive on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja while briefing State House correspondents.
The announcement followed the approval of a new policy by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) aimed at regulating the award and usage of honorary degrees by Nigerian universities.
According to the minister, the new framework seeks to curb longstanding abuses associated with honorary doctorate awards, including their alleged use for political patronage and financial inducement.
He emphasised that the reform is designed to restore credibility and public trust in academic titles.
Alausa stated that recipients of honorary degrees must no longer adopt the “Dr” prefix. Instead, they are required to reflect the honorary nature of their awards by appending the full designation after their names.
He cited examples such as “Chief Louis Clark, D.Lit. (Doctor of Literature, Honoris Causa)” and “Mrs Miriam Adamu, LL.D. Hons.” as acceptable formats.
“Recipients shall not prefix ‘doctor’ to their names in official, academic or professional usage,” he said, adding that any misrepresentation of honorary degrees as earned academic qualifications would attract both legal and reputational consequences.
The policy also introduces stricter controls on the types of honorary degrees that universities may confer.
Institutions are now limited to awarding only four categories: Doctor of Laws (LL.D), Doctor of Letters (D.Lit), Doctor of Science (D.Sc), and Doctor of Humanities (D.Arts).
Furthermore, universities without established doctoral (PhD) programmes are barred from awarding honorary degrees altogether.
The minister explained that this measure targets the growing number of relatively new institutions that have been conferring such honours despite lacking postgraduate research capacity.
In addition, all honorary degree certificates must clearly indicate their status by including the terms “honorary” or “Honoris Causa,” both on the certificate and in all official references.
The move comes amid sustained criticism from Nigeria’s academic community over the perceived commercialisation of honorary degrees, with allegations that some institutions confer such honours on wealthy individuals and public office holders in exchange for financial or political benefits.
Efforts to address the issue are not new. In 2012, the Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities introduced the Keffi Declaration to set standards for awarding honorary degrees.
However, Alausa noted that the initiative lacked legal backing and was largely ineffective.
“The association doesn’t have the legal authority to enforce compliance. That is why this policy has now been elevated to the Federal Executive Council, giving it full executive and legal force,” he said.
To ensure compliance, the Federal Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the National Universities Commission, will issue a formal circular to all vice-chancellors, registrars, and governing councils nationwide.
The government also plans to monitor university convocation ceremonies and work with media organisations to discourage the improper attribution of academic titles to honorary recipients.
Additionally, an annual list of legitimate honorary degree recipients will be published to safeguard the integrity of Nigeria’s academic system.
