By Oluwakemi Kindness
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved a policy prohibiting recipients of honorary degrees from using the title “Dr” in any official, academic, or professional setting, in a move aimed at restoring integrity to Nigeria’s academic system.
Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, announced the directive on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja while briefing State House correspondents on decisions reached at the council meeting.The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved a policy prohibiting recipients of honorary degrees from using the title “Dr” in any official, academic, or professional setting, in a move aimed at restoring integrity to Nigeria’s academic system.
Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, announced the directive on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja while briefing State House correspondents on decisions reached at the council meeting.
He was joined by the Minister of State for Education, Suwaiba Ahmad.
Alausa described the misuse of honorary titles as a form of academic fraud, warning that offenders would face legal and reputational consequences under the new framework.
According to him, the policy introduces strict guidelines governing the award and usage of honorary degrees by Nigerian universities, targeting years of abuse, politicisation, and commercialisation of academic honours.
Under the new rules, honorary doctorate recipients must no longer prefix “Dr” to their names.
Instead, they are required to explicitly indicate the honorary nature of the award. For example, beneficiaries are expected to use formats such as D.Lit. (Honoris Causa) or LL.D. Hons. after their names.
The minister further stated that all honorary degrees must now be clearly labelled “honorary” or “Honoris Causa” on certificates and in official references to prevent misrepresentation.
In a significant tightening of standards, the government has also limited Nigerian universities 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).
Additionally, institutions without active PhD programmes will no longer be permitted to confer honorary degrees—an effort aimed at curbing excesses, particularly among newer universities.
Alausa noted that the reform responds to long-standing concerns within the academic community over the indiscriminate conferment of honorary degrees, often linked to political patronage and financial influence.
He added that earlier attempts to regulate the practice, including the 2012 Keffi Declaration by the Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, failed due to lack of legal backing.
“This policy now has full legal and executive backing from the Federal Executive Council,” the minister said, stressing the government’s commitment to restoring credibility and global respect to Nigeria’s academic system.
