The Federal Government has introduced a sweeping new policy prohibiting recipients of honorary degrees from using the “Dr” title, declaring such usage a form of academic misrepresentation that will attract legal and reputational consequences.
The announcement was made on Wednesday in Abuja by the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, during a briefing at the Presidential Villa following approvals by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
Alausa, who addressed journalists alongside the Minister of State for Education, Suwaiba Ahmad, said the new directive establishes a uniform framework regulating how honorary degrees are awarded and used across Nigerian universities.
He explained that the policy aims to curb long-standing abuses associated with honorary academic titles and restore credibility to the system.
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 guidelines, recipients of honorary degrees are barred from prefixing “Dr” to their names in any formal context. Instead, they are required to reflect the honorary nature of the award by placing the full designation after their names.
Giving examples, Alausa explained, “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 revised 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 the categories of honorary degrees Nigerian universities can award to four recognised types: Doctor of Laws (LL.D), Doctor of Letters (D.Lit), Doctor of Science (D.Sc), and Doctor of Humanities (D.Arts).
In addition, institutions that do not run active PhD programmes are now barred from awarding honorary doctorates altogether—a move aimed at curbing the proliferation of such titles among newer universities lacking postgraduate research capacity.
According to the minister, all honorary awards must explicitly include the terms “honorary” or “Honoris Causa” on certificates and in official references.
For years, Nigeria’s academic space has grappled with concerns over the commercialisation and politicisation of honorary degrees, with allegations that some institutions award them based on financial influence or political considerations rather than merit.
An earlier attempt to address the issue through the Keffi Declaration by the Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities failed due to lack of legal backing.
Alausa noted, “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 disclosed that the Federal Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the National Universities Commission (NUC), will issue compliance directives to universities nationwide.
He added that convocation ceremonies will be monitored to ensure adherence, while the government will also work with media organisations to discourage the improper use of academic titles.
To further safeguard academic integrity, the ministry plans to publish an annual list of legitimate honorary degree recipients, with the NUC empowered to enforce full compliance with the policy.
