The Federal Government has taken steps to restore the integrity of Nigeria’s higher education system by officially prohibiting recipients of honorary doctorate degrees from using the title “Dr.” before their names.
Announcing the decision during a media briefing at the Presidential Villa on Wednesday, the Minister of Education, Prof. Tunji Alausa, revealed that the directive was a key outcome of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting held on April 30. The move is a direct attempt to halt the “indiscriminate conferment” of academic honors, which the government argues has been weaponized for political patronage and financial gain over several decades.
The Minister expressed deep concern over the erosion of academic ethics, noting that honorary degrees—traditionally reserved for exceptional service to society—have been reduced to transactional tools.
“The recent trend we’ve seen with the award of honorary degrees has revealed a growing abuse and politicisation of this academic privilege,” Alausa stated. “We’ve seen awards being used for political patronage, for financial gain, as well as the conferral of awards on serving public officials, which, as part of the ethics of honorary degree awards, should not happen.”
By stripping recipients of the right to use the title in a formal or professional capacity, the government aims to distinguish between those who earned their doctorates through rigorous research and those who received them as tokens of appreciation or influence.
The Federal Government is also tightening the leash on university administrators. Vice Chancellors across the federation have been directed to immediately streamline their award processes. To ensure compliance, Alausa warned that any university found violating the FEC decision will face stiff sanctions.
In a significant shift in institutional autonomy, universities will no longer have the sole power to decide who receives these honors. Going forward, every institution must seek and obtain formal approval from the National Universities Commission (NUC) before any honorary degree can be awarded.
This new regulatory bottleneck is designed to ensure that the criteria for these awards meet national standards and are protected from the pressures of “donors” or political figures looking to inflate their social status through academic titles.
