The National Universities Commission (NUC) has introduced new restrictions aimed at tackling the growing abuse of honorary doctorate degrees in Nigeria, including a firm prohibition on conferring such honours on serving government officials.

Announcing the decision in Abuja on Friday, the NUC Executive Secretary, Professor Abdullahi Yusufu Ribadu, said the measures were prompted by troubling discoveries made by a committee set up to investigate the award and misuse of honorary degrees across the country.

Ribadu noted that the Commission decided to intervene after a nationwide review revealed disturbing patterns in how honorary degrees are conferred and subsequently used.

“These degrees are meant to recognise outstanding service or achievements, but unfortunately, they have increasingly been misused,” he said.

He pointed out that the situation has been worsened by the proliferation of illegal and unaccredited institutions—both within and outside the country—posing as honorary degree-issuing bodies.

According to him, the investigation highlighted rampant disregard for the Keffi Declaration of 2012, a resolution adopted by Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian universities to guide the award of honorary doctorates.

The declaration clearly bars universities from giving honorary degrees to serving public officials and warns honourees against styling themselves as “Dr” without proper 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.”

Ribadu stressed that the misuse of honorary titles erodes the credibility of the university system and weakens public confidence in legitimate academic achievements.

He disclosed that the committee identified 32 entities operating as honorary degree mills in the country. These include 10 unaccredited foreign universities, 4 unlicensed Nigerian universities, 15 professional bodies without authority to award degrees, and 3 other organisations likewise lacking degree-awarding powers.

Some of these institutions, the NUC found, even issue bogus 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 reaffirmed that only authorised public or private universities are permitted to award honorary doctorates. Even then, he stressed that recipients should use appropriate designations such as Doctor of Literature (Honoris Causa), rather than adopting the title “Dr”, which is reserved for holders of earned doctorates and medical practitioners.