ABUJA — The Federal Government has announced a ban on honorary degree holders from using the “Dr” prefix in official, academic, or professional settings.
The government also approved the establishment of a National Research and Innovation Development Fund, with an annual allocation of $500 million.
The decisions were disclosed on Wednesday by the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, while briefing State House correspondents on memoranda presented to the Federal Executive Council (FEC), which were approved at its meeting last Thursday.
Alausa said the FEC adopted a uniform policy regulating the award and use of honorary degrees across Nigerian universities.
According to him, the misuse of honorary titles by recipients who are not academically qualified constitutes misrepresentation of credentials and will henceforth be treated as academic fraud, with legal and reputational consequences.
He said the policy aims to curb the growing abuse and politicisation of honorary degrees, which he said have often been awarded for financial or political patronage rather than merit.
“We’ve seen awards being used for political patronage, for financial gain, as well as the conferment of awards on serving public officials, which, as part of the ethics of honorary degree awards, should not happen,” he said.
Under the new directive, recipients of honorary degrees are prohibited from using the “Dr” title before their names. Instead, they must indicate the award after their names.
For example, Alausa explained that acceptable usage would include formats such as “Chief Louis Clark, D.Lit. (Doctor of Literature, Honoris Causa)” or “Mrs Miriam Adamu, LL.D. Hons.”
He stressed that only honorary, not earned, academic status must be reflected in all references.
“Recipients shall not prefix ‘doctor’ to their names in official, academic, or professional usage,” the minister said, adding that any misrepresentation would attract sanctions.
The policy also limits honorary degrees in Nigeria to four categories: Doctor of Laws (LL.D.), Doctor of Letters (D.Lit.), Doctor of Science (D.Sc.), and Doctor of Humanities (D.Arts).
It further bars universities without active PhD programmes from awarding honorary degrees, a move aimed at curbing indiscriminate conferment by newer institutions.
All honorary awards must clearly state “honorary” or “Honoris Causa” on certificates and official references.
Alausa noted that concerns over the commercialisation of honorary degrees have persisted in Nigeria’s higher education system, with awards often given in exchange for financial donations or political favour.
He recalled the 2012 Keffi Declaration by the Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, which sought to regulate the practice but lacked legal backing.
“The association doesn’t have any legal backing to enforce anything. That is why we brought this to the Federal Executive Council, which now gives it legal and executive backing,” he said.
The minister said the Federal Ministry of Education and the National Universities Commission (NUC) will issue directives to vice-chancellors, registrars, and governing councils to ensure compliance.
He added that convocation ceremonies will be monitored, while the government will work with the media to discourage improper use of honorary titles.
Alausa also disclosed that the government will publish an annual list of legitimate honorary degree recipients to protect the integrity of earned academic qualifications.
On research funding, he said the newly established National Research and Innovation Development Fund will support innovation and research across tertiary institutions, noting that Nigeria’s talent base has long been underutilised due to poor funding.
He commended President Bola Tinubu for approving the initiative, describing it as a major step toward strengthening higher education and innovation in the country.
Margaret ABAH
