By Daily Review Online
The Federal Government of Nigeria has banned holders of honorary degrees from using the “Dr” title as a prefix to their names, warning that such practice will now be treated as academic fraud.
Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, announced the directive on Wednesday while briefing journalists at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. He said the decision followed approval by the Federal Executive Council to standardise the award and usage of honorary degrees across Nigerian universities.
According to Alausa, recipients of honorary doctorates must no longer present themselves as medical or academic doctors in official, academic, or professional settings. Instead, they are required to indicate the honorary nature of their awards by placing the full designation—such as LL.D (Honoris Causa) or D.Lit (Hons)—after their names.
He stressed that misrepresenting honorary titles as earned academic qualifications would attract legal and reputational consequences, describing the move as part of efforts to restore credibility to Nigeria’s academic system.
The new policy also limits the types of honorary degrees universities can confer to four categories: Doctor of Laws (LL.D), Doctor of Letters (D.Lit), Doctor of Science (D.Sc), and Doctor of Humanities (D.Arts). Additionally, institutions without active PhD programmes are now barred from awarding honorary doctorates.
Alausa said the reforms were necessary to curb the growing trend of indiscriminate awards, often linked to political patronage and financial incentives, which have eroded public trust in academic honours.
To ensure compliance, the government—through the Ministry of Education and the National Universities Commission—will monitor convocation ceremonies and publish an annual list of legitimate honorary degree recipients.