The Federal Government has outlawed the award of honorary doctorate degrees to serving public officials as part of new measures to curb widespread abuse of the academic honour.
The Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Prof. Abdullahi Yusufu Ribadu, announced the policy on Friday in Abuja while receiving the report of a committee set up to probe the award and misuse of honorary degrees across the country.
Ribadu said the Commission acted after a nationwide review revealed disturbing patterns in how the degrees were conferred and publicly used.
“These degrees are meant to recognise outstanding service or achievements, but unfortunately, they have increasingly been misused,” he said.
He blamed the trend partly on the proliferation of illegal and unaccredited institutions—both local and foreign—operating as honorary degree mills.
According to him, the probe uncovered widespread violations of the Keffi Declaration of 2012, which bars universities from giving honorary doctorates to serving officials and cautions recipients against using the title “Dr” without clarification.
“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.”