Rufus Okoro
The Nigerian government has prohibited the award of honorary doctoral degrees to serving public officials in the country.
This was disclosed by the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Abdullahi Ribadu on 21st November 2025.
He announced the ban after receiving a report from a committee reviewing the award and public use/misuse of honorary doctoral degrees in Nigeria.
Ribadu stated that the decision was made in response to allegations of misuse of such degrees across the country.
ALSO READ >>>
Malawi warns Institutions, Recipients on Honorary Doctoral Degrees, others
The NUC boss said the Commission was compelled to act following alarming findings from a nationwide investigation into how honorary degrees were awarded and used.
“These degrees are meant to recognise outstanding service or achievements, but unfortunately, they have increasingly been misused,” he declared.
According to Ribadu, the trend has been worsened by the rise of unaccredited and illegal institutions, both local and foreign, "operating as honorary degree mills".
He revealed that the NUC’s investigation uncovered widespread violations, particularly of the Keffi Declaration of 2012, an agreement by Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian universities to regulate the award of honorary degrees.
The declaration expressly forbids universities from awarding honorary doctorates to serving public officials and cautions recipients against using the title “Dr” without proper disclosure.
ALSO READ >>>
Ghana warns Use of Honorary Doctoral, Professorial Titles
"This is not just a matter of ethics; it is a matter of law. Using the title ‘Dr’ based on an honorary degree without clarification amounts to false representation, which is punishable under various fraud-related laws in Nigeria,” Ribadu stated.
He warned that misuse of honorary titles undermines the integrity of universities and diminishes public trust in genuine academic qualifications.
According to him, the report identified 32 institutions currently operating as honorary degree mills in Nigeria.
These included 10 unaccredited foreign universities, 4 unlicensed local universities, 15 professional bodies with no degree-awarding powers, and three other non-degree-awarding institutions.
Some of these entities, the NUC revealed, even go as far as awarding fake professorships.
“Let us be clear. Awarding honorary degrees is a legal responsibility of Nigerian universities. The law empowers the NUC to regulate both the award and the use of honorary doctorate degrees in Nigeria,” Ribadu stated.
He reiterated that only approved public or private universities were eligible to award honorary doctoral degrees.
"Even then, recipients must use appropriate nomenclature such as Doctor of Literature (Honoris Causa) rather than adopting the title ‘Dr’, which is reserved for holders of earned doctorates and medical professionals,” he added.
It could be recalled that early this year, a few African countries, including Malawi and Ghana, banned the award of doctoral degrees in their respective jurisdictions, warning recipients of such degrees to desist from bearing the title 'Dr' or as the case may be.
RostrumNews
