RismadarVoice Reporters, May 6, 2026
The Federal Government has banned recipients of honorary degrees from prefixing “Dr” to their names in official, academic, and professional usage, declaring such practice a misrepresentation of academic credentials that will be treated as academic fraud.
Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, announced the directive on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, while briefing State House correspondents on decisions approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
Alausa said the new policy establishes a uniform framework for the award and use of honorary degrees by Nigerian universities, aimed at curbing what he described as the abuse and politicisation of the honours.
“Recipients shall not prefix ‘Doctor’ to their names in official, academic or professional usage,” the minister said. “Misrepresentation of honorary degrees as earned academic credentials shall be considered academic fraud and subject to legal and reputational consequences.”
He explained that honorary degree holders must instead place the designation after their names, clearly indicating its honorary nature. Examples include “Chief Louis Clark, D.Lit. (Honoris Causa)” or “Mrs Miriam Adamu, LL.D. Hons.”
The FEC also approved restrictions on the categories of honorary degrees that universities can confer, limiting them to Doctor of Laws (LL.D), Doctor of Letters (D.Lit), Doctor of Science (D.Sc), and Doctor of Humanities (D.Arts).
In addition, universities without active PhD-awarding programmes are barred from conferring honorary degrees.
Alausa said the measures are intended to address the growing trend of indiscriminate awards, often linked to political patronage and financial considerations.
“We’ve seen awards being used for political patronage and financial gain, including conferral on serving public officials, which should not happen under the ethics of honorary degrees,” he said.
Under the new guidelines, all honorary degrees must carry the words “honorary” or “Honoris Causa” on certificates and in all references.
The minister noted that previous attempts by the Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities to regulate the practice, including the 2012 Keffi Declaration, failed due to lack of legal backing.
He said the new policy now has executive approval, giving it enforceability through the National Universities Commission (NUC).
Alausa added that the Ministry of Education and the NUC will issue a circular to universities and monitor convocation ceremonies for compliance. The government will also work with the media to discourage improper attribution of academic titles and publish an annual list of legitimate honorary degree recipients.
The move comes amid longstanding concerns within Nigeria’s academic community over the commercialisation of honorary degrees and their use to confer social and political prestige rather than recognise merit.
