BREAKING: FG Bars Honorary Degree Holders from Using ‘Dr’ Title, Classifies as Academic Fraud, Threatens Sanction

By Monday Peters, Abuja

ABUJA — The Federal Government has banned individuals conferred with honorary doctorate degrees from using the “Dr” prefix in official, academic, or professional settings, stating that such practice amounts to misrepresentation and will now attract penalties for academic fraud.

Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa during a media briefing on resolutions approved by the Federal Executive Council at its April 30 meeting. He was joined by the Minister of State for Education, Suwaiba Ahmad.

According to Alausa, the FEC has approved a standardized national policy to regulate how Nigerian universities award and recognize honorary degrees. The move, he said, is aimed at ending the widespread abuse and commercialization of such awards and rebuilding trust in academic qualifications.

“The pattern of honorary degree awards in recent years shows increasing misuse and politicization of what should be an academic honor,” Alausa stated. “We have witnessed cases where the titles are given for political favors, monetary gain, or to serving public officials, which goes against the ethics of honorary awards.”

The new directive requires honorary degree recipients to state their title in full after their names rather than using “Dr” as a prefix. For instance, the correct format would be “Chief Louis Clark (Honoris Causa)” or “Mrs Miriam Adamu, LL.D. (Hons).”

Alausa stressed that the revised format will clearly differentiate honorary recognition from earned doctoral qualifications.

“Recipients are prohibited from using ‘Dr’ before their names in any formal or professional capacity. Presenting an honorary degree as an earned academic qualification will be regarded as academic fraud and may lead to legal and reputational sanctions,” he warned.

The policy also restricts the types of honorary degrees that institutions can confer to four categories only: Doctor of Laws (LL.D), Doctor of Letters (D.Lit), Doctor of Science (D.Sc), and Doctor of Humanities (D.Arts).

Furthermore, universities that do not currently run active PhD programs are now barred from awarding honorary doctorates. Alausa explained that this is to address the growing trend of newly established institutions, some under five years old, issuing honorary titles despite lacking postgraduate research infrastructure.

He also mandated that all honorary certificates must clearly bear the words “honorary” or “Honoris Causa” both on the certificate and in any official reference.

The minister noted that concerns over the abuse of honorary degrees have been raised for years within the academic community, with critics alleging that the honors are often given to wealthy donors and government officials in exchange for financial or political support rather than academic merit.

He cited the 2012 Keffi Declaration by the Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, which attempted to establish standards for honorary awards but lacked legal enforcement power.

“The association had no legal authority to enforce compliance. That’s why we presented it to the Federal Executive Council, which now provides it with legal and executive backing,” Alausa said.

He added that the Ministry of Education, working with the National Universities Commission, will issue compliance guidelines to all universities and oversee implementation, including at convocation events.

The government also intends to collaborate with the media to discourage the improper use of academic titles and will release an annual list of verified honorary degree recipients to protect the integrity of genuine academic credentials.