The Federal Government has outlawed the use of the “Dr” title by recipients of honorary degrees, declaring that any such representation will be treated as academic fraud.
Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, disclosed the directive on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, during a briefing on decisions approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
He said the move forms part of a sweeping reform aimed at restoring discipline and credibility to Nigeria’s university system, where the conferment of honorary degrees has come under increasing scrutiny.
Under the new policy, recipients of honorary doctorates are barred from using “Dr” as a prefix in official, academic, or professional settings. Instead, they are expected to indicate the honorary nature of the award by placing the designation after their names.
Alausa explained that formats such as including “Honoris Causa” alongside the degree title would clearly distinguish honorary awards from earned academic qualifications.
He warned that misrepresenting honorary degrees as earned doctorates would attract legal and reputational consequences, stressing that the practice undermines the integrity of academic titles.
According to the minister, the reform is intended to address the growing misuse of honorary degrees, which he said have increasingly been awarded for political patronage, financial incentives, and other non-academic reasons.
“The integrity of our academic system must be preserved. The abuse of honorary degrees has diluted the value of genuine academic achievements,” he said.
The new guidelines also limit Nigerian universities to awarding only four categories of honorary doctorates: Doctor of Laws (LL.D), Doctor of Letters (D.Lit), Doctor of Science (D.Sc), and Doctor of Humanities (D.Arts).
In addition, only universities with active doctoral (PhD) programmes will be permitted to confer honorary degrees, effectively shutting out institutions without postgraduate research capacity.
The policy further mandates that all honorary awards must be clearly labelled “honorary” or “Honoris Causa” on certificates and in all formal references.
Alausa noted that previous attempts to regulate the practice, including the 2012 Keffi Declaration, failed due to lack of legal backing, but said the latest approval by FEC now provides enforceable authority.
To drive compliance, the Federal Ministry of Education will collaborate with the National Universities Commission to issue directives to universities and monitor adherence, particularly during convocation ceremonies.
He added that the government would also engage the media to discourage misuse of academic titles and publish an annual list of legitimate honorary degree recipients.
The minister said the measures are designed to rebuild public confidence in Nigeria’s higher education system and safeguard the credibility of properly earned academic qualifications.
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