FG Bans Honorary Degrees for Serving Public Officials
The Federal Government has placed a ban on the award of honorary doctorate degrees to serving public officials, as part of new measures introduced to curb widespread misuse of such titles across the country.
The Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Abdullahi Yusufu Ribadu, announced the decision on Friday in Abuja while receiving a report from a committee set up to investigate the award and public misuse of honorary doctorates in Nigeria.
Professor Ribadu said the Commission was forced to act following disturbing revelations from a nationwide inquiry into how honorary degrees are conferred and deployed by recipients.
“These degrees are intended to recognise exceptional service or achievements. Unfortunately, they have increasingly become tools of misuse,” he said.
He noted that the situation has been worsened by a surge in unaccredited and illegal institutions—both local and foreign—operating purely as honorary degree mills.
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According to the NUC boss, the investigation uncovered widespread violations of the Keffi Declaration of 2012, an agreement among Nigerian Vice-Chancellors aimed at regulating the award of honorary doctorates. The declaration explicitly prohibits universities from honouring serving public officials and warns against recipients adopting the title “Dr” without proper clarification.
“This is not just an ethical issue; it is a legal one. Using the title ‘Dr’ on the basis of an honorary degree without disclosure constitutes false representation and is punishable under several fraud-related laws in Nigeria,” Ribadu stated.
He warned that misuse of honorary titles erodes the credibility of Nigerian universities and undermines public confidence in legitimate academic qualifications.
The report identified 32 institutions currently operating as honorary degree mills in the country. These include 10 unaccredited foreign universities, four unlicensed local universities, 15 professional bodies without degree-awarding powers, and three non-degree-awarding organisations. Some of these entities, the NUC revealed, even confer fake professorships.
“Let us be clear: awarding honorary degrees is a legal responsibility vested solely in approved Nigerian universities. The law empowers the NUC to regulate both the award and use of honorary doctorate degrees,” he said.
Ribadu reiterated that only accredited public or private universities are authorised to award honorary doctorates, and that recipients must use the correct nomenclature—such as Doctor of Literature (Honoris Causa)—instead of assuming the title “Dr,” which is strictly reserved for holders of earned doctoral degrees and medical practitioners.
By PRNigeria
