FG Bans Use of ‘Dr’ Title by Honorary Degree Holders, Issues Sanctions Warning

The Federal Government has formally prohibited recipients of honorary degrees from using the title “Dr” in any official, academic, or professional capacity, warning that violations will attract both legal and reputational consequences.

The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, announced the directive on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja while briefing State House correspondents on resolutions approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC). He appeared alongside the Minister of State for Education, Suwaiba Ahmad.

According to Alausa, the Council has approved a uniform policy to regulate both the award and usage of honorary degrees across Nigerian universities. He explained that the decision was necessitated by the increasing abuse and politicisation of honorary awards.

He noted that honorary degrees have, in recent times, been used for political patronage and financial gain, with some awards conferred on serving public officials—an action he described as contrary to the ethical standards governing such recognitions.

Under the new policy, recipients of honorary degrees must clearly indicate the nature of their award after their names instead of using the “Dr” prefix. For example, titles such as Chief Louis Clark, D.Lit. (Honoris Causa) or Mrs Miriam Adamu, LL.D (Hons.) are considered acceptable.

Alausa emphasized that presenting an honorary degree as an earned academic qualification will be treated as academic fraud and will attract appropriate sanctions.

The policy also standardizes the categories of honorary degrees that Nigerian universities are permitted to award. These are limited to:

• Doctor of Laws (LL.D)
• Doctor of Letters (D.Lit)
• Doctor of Science (D.Sc)
• Doctor of Humanities (D.Arts)

In a further move to strengthen academic integrity, institutions without active PhD-awarding programmes have been barred from conferring honorary degrees. This is aimed at curbing the practice among newer universities lacking sufficient postgraduate research capacity.

Additionally, all honorary awards must explicitly include the designation “honorary” or “Honoris Causa” on certificates and in all formal references.

The Minister acknowledged longstanding concerns about the commercialisation of honorary degrees, with allegations that some institutions grant such awards to wealthy individuals or public officials in exchange for financial or political benefits.

He recalled that earlier attempts by university authorities to regulate the practice—such as the 2012 Keffi Declaration by vice-chancellors—failed due to the absence of legal enforcement mechanisms.

With FEC approval now in place, the policy carries full legal and executive backing. The Federal Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the National Universities Commission (NUC), will issue implementation directives to universities, monitor compliance during convocation ceremonies, and publish an annual list of legitimate honorary degree recipients.

The government also plans to work closely with the media to discourage the misuse of academic titles and uphold the integrity of Nigeria’s higher education system.