The Federal Government has introduced a new policy prohibiting recipients of honorary degrees from using the title “Dr” in any official, academic or professional context.
Authorities said the move is aimed at ending the misuse of honorary awards, warning that presenting such titles as earned academic qualifications will now be treated as academic fraud, with potential legal and reputational consequences.
Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, announced the directive on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja while briefing journalists alongside the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad. He disclosed that the Federal Executive Council approved a uniform framework to regulate how honorary degrees are awarded and used across Nigerian universities.
According to Alausa, the decision follows growing concerns over the politicisation and abuse of honorary doctorate awards, which have increasingly been linked to patronage, financial influence and recognition of serving public officials—practices he described as unethical.
Under the new guidelines, recipients must place honorary titles after their names rather than using the “Dr” prefix. For instance, names should appear as “Chief Louis Clark, D.Lit. (Honoris Causa)” or “Mrs Miriam Adamu, LL.D. (Hons.),” clearly indicating that the qualification is honorary.
He stressed that any attempt to present such awards as earned academic credentials would be classified as fraud.
The policy also restricts honorary degrees to four approved categories: Doctor of Laws (LL.D), Doctor of Letters (D.Lit), Doctor of Science (D.Sc) and Doctor of Humanities (D.Arts). Additionally, only universities with active PhD programmes are permitted to confer honorary degrees.
Alausa noted that the reform became necessary after some relatively new institutions, including those without postgraduate programmes, began awarding honorary doctorates indiscriminately.
He further directed that all honorary certificates must explicitly state “honorary” or “Honoris Causa” to prevent ambiguity.
The minister recalled that earlier attempts by the Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities to regulate the practice, including the 2012 Keffi Declaration, failed due to the absence of legal backing. He said the new approval by the Federal Executive Council now gives the policy enforceable authority.
To ensure compliance, the Ministry of Education and the National Universities Commission will issue directives to university authorities, monitor convocation ceremonies and collaborate with the media to discourage misuse of academic titles.
An annual list of legitimate honorary degree recipients will also be published, while the NUC will oversee enforcement using its statutory powers.
Officials say the directive is part of broader efforts to restore credibility to Nigeria’s academic system and curb the indiscriminate conferment of honorary awards.
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