The Federal Government has banned recipients of honorary degrees from prefixing “Dr” to their names in official, academic, or professional usage, declaring such practice a misrepresentation of academic credentials.
The new policy, announced on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, will treat misuse of the title as academic fraud with legal and reputational consequences.
Minister of Education Tunji Alausa, speaking alongside Minister of State for Education Prof Suwaiba Ahmad, said the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved a uniform policy for awarding and using honorary degrees in Nigerian universities.
He explained that the policy was designed to end decades of indiscriminate conferrals for political patronage and financial gain.
“The recent trend we’ve seen with the award of honorary degrees has revealed a growing abuse and politicisation of this academic privilege,” Alausa said.
He added, “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, recipients must cite the full honorary designation after their names. “For instance, you can use Chief Louis Clark, D.Lit. (Doctor of Literature, Honoris Causa) or Mrs Miriam Adamu, LL.D. Hons,” Alausa explained.
He stressed, “Recipients shall not prefix doctor to their names in official, academic or professional usage. Misrepresentation of honorary degrees as earned academic credentials shall be considered academic fraud and subject to legal and reputational consequences.”
Enforcement And Academic Integrity
The policy restricts honorary degrees to four types: Doctor of Laws (LL.D), Doctor of Letters (D.Lit), Doctor of Science (D.Sc), and Doctor of Humanities (D.Arts).
Universities without active PhD-awarding programmes are barred from conferring honorary degrees.
Alausa said all honorary degrees must carry the words “honorary” or “Honoris Causa” on certificates and in references. He noted that the National Universities Commission (NUC) has statutory power to enforce the policy.
The minister recalled that in 2012, the Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities attempted to regulate honorary awards through the Keffi Declaration, but it lacked legal backing.
“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 Ministry of Education and NUC will issue circulars to all vice-chancellors, registrars, and governing councils.
Convocation programmes will be monitored for compliance, and the government will collaborate with the media to discourage improper use of academic titles.
Alausa added that the ministry will publish annually a list of legitimate honorary degree recipients to protect the integrity of earned qualifications.
Rate, Like 👍, Comment 💬, Share this article, Follow us on our social media handles, and Submit your own story to get featured and earn rewards!
WhatsApp Channel
Telegram Channel
