The Federal Government has prohibited recipients of honorary doctorates from prefixing “Dr” to their names in any official, academic, or professional context, declaring the practice a misrepresentation of academic credentials that will now attract sanctions.
Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, announced the directive on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, while briefing State House correspondents.
He spoke on two Federal Executive Council (FEC) approvals not presented at the last cabinet meeting held on April 30.
Alausa, who addressed the press alongside Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, said the council approved a uniform national policy governing the award and usage of honorary degrees by Nigerian universities.
According to him, the policy seeks to curb longstanding abuses and restore credibility to academic honours.
He said, “The recent trend we’ve seen with the award of honorary degrees has revealed a growing abuse and politicisation of this academic privilege.
“We’ve seen awards being used for political patronage, for financial gain, as well as the conferral of awards on serving public officials, which, as part of the ethics of honorary degree awards, should not happen.”
Under the new rules, honorary degree recipients must no longer adopt the “Dr” title. Instead, they are required to indicate the honorary nature of the award by placing the designation after their names.
Illustrating the correct format, Alausa said, “For instance, you can use Chief Louis Clark, D.Lit. (Doctor of Literature, Honoris Causa)” or “Mrs Miriam Adamu, LL.D. Hons.”
He emphasised that the format is intended to clearly distinguish honorary recognitions from earned academic qualifications.
“Recipients shall not prefix doctor to their names in official, academic or professional usage,” the minister said, adding, “Misrepresentation of honorary degrees as earned academic credentials shall be considered academic fraud and subject to legal and reputational consequences.”
The policy also limits Nigerian universities to four recognised honorary degrees: Doctor of Laws (LL.D), Doctor of Letters (D.Lit), Doctor of Science (D.Sc), and Doctor of Humanities (D.Arts).
Additionally, institutions that do not run active PhD programmes are barred from awarding honorary doctorates.
Alausa explained that the restriction targets the growing number of relatively new universities, some less than five years old, conferring honorary titles despite lacking postgraduate research capacity.
He further directed that all honorary awards must explicitly carry the words “honorary” or “Honoris Causa” on certificates and in all official references.
Concerns over the commercialisation and politicisation of honorary degrees have persisted within Nigeria’s academic community for years, with critics alleging that such honours are frequently granted to wealthy individuals and public officials in exchange for financial or political patronage.
Efforts to address the issue date back to 2012, when the Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities introduced the Keffi Declaration to guide the award process. However, Alausa noted that the initiative failed due to lack of legal authority.
“The association doesn’t have any legal backing to enforce anything.
“That is why we brought this to the Federal Executive Council, which now gives it legal and executive backing,” he said.
The minister disclosed that the Federal Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the National Universities Commission (NUC), will circulate the new directive to vice-chancellors, registrars, and governing councils nationwide.
He added that convocation ceremonies will be monitored for compliance, while the government will partner with the media to discourage the improper use of academic titles.
To further safeguard academic integrity, the ministry will publish an annual list of legitimate honorary degree recipients.
Alausa affirmed that the NUC possesses the statutory authority to enforce full compliance with the policy.
