Nigerian govt bars honorary degree recipients from using ‘Dr’ title

THE Nigerian government has outlawed the use of the ‘Dr’ prefix by individuals who obtained honorary doctorate degrees, following approval by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

Minister of Education, Mr Tunji Alausa, disclosed the decision while addressing State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. He explained that the directive is aimed at cleaning up the education system and preserving the credibility of academic qualifications in the country.

Alausa noted that the policy provides legal backing for regulatory and academic bodies such as the National Universities Commission (NUC), the education ministry, and university governing structures that had previously sought to enforce similar measures without success.

He warned that presenting honorary titles as earned academic qualifications would now be treated as a criminal offence, describing it as academic fraud with potential legal and reputational consequences.

The minister further revealed that universities without active PhD-awarding programmes are now prohibited from conferring honorary doctorate degrees. According to him, the move follows widespread abuse, including the politicisation and commercialisation of such awards.

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Under the new framework, Nigerian universities are restricted to awarding only four categories of honorary degrees: Doctor of Laws (LL.D), Doctor of Letters (D.Lit), Doctor of Science (D.Sc), and Doctor of Humanities (D.Arts).

Alausa said recent trends have shown increasing misuse of honorary degrees, particularly among newer institutions that lack postgraduate research capacity but still confer such honours.

He added that the awards have often been deployed for political patronage, financial benefits, and even granted to serving public officials. These practices, experts say, violate established ethical standards.

To ensure clarity, the minister advised recipients to clearly indicate the honorary nature of their awards when listing them, citing formats such as ‘Chief Louis Clark, D.Lit. (Honoris Causa).’ He stressed that all certificates and references must explicitly include terms like ‘Honorary’ or ‘Honoris Causa.’

Alausa recalled that the Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities had attempted to address the issue through the 2012 ‘Keffi Declaration,’ but the effort failed due to the absence of legal enforcement.

He added that convocation ceremonies across universities would now be closely monitored to ensure adherence to the new directive.