NUC bans honorary degrees for public officials, targets fake institutions

The National Universities Commission (NUC) has imposed a firm ban on the award of honorary doctorate degrees to serving public officials, unveiling sweeping reforms aimed at halting what it described as the growing abuse of such titles in Nigeria.

NUC Executive Secretary, Prof. Abdullahi Yusufu Ribadu, announced the measure on Friday in Abuja while receiving a committee report on widespread malpractice in the award of honorary degrees.

The committee’s nationwide investigation uncovered 32 institutions operating as “honorary degree mills,” offering dubious titles without merit or legal authority.

According to the report, the 32 entities flagged include 10 unaccredited foreign universities, four unlicensed local institutions, 15 professional bodies lacking the mandate to award degrees, and three non-academic organisations.

Some were also found to be issuing fake professorships.

“These degrees are meant to celebrate extraordinary accomplishment,” Ribadu said, “but they are increasingly being misused.

“The proliferation of unaccredited institutions offering them without legitimacy is deeply troubling.”

He added that many of the violations contravened the Keffi Declaration of 2012, which prohibits universities from conferring honorary doctorates on serving public officials and cautions recipients against using “Dr” as a title without proper qualification.

“This is not only unethical — it is illegal,” Ribadu stressed.

“Using the title ‘Dr’ solely on the basis of an honorary degree is a form of false representation punishable under Nigerian fraud laws.”

The NUC clarified that only accredited universities in Nigeria have the legal authority to award honorary doctorates, and recipients must use the correct honorary designations such as D.Litt. (h.c.) or Doctor of Literature (Honoris Causa).

They are not permitted to adopt the title “Dr” or function in academic roles such as supervising research or heading academic programmes.

Ribadu warned that the misuse of honorary titles undermines the credibility of authentic academic qualifications and erodes public confidence in the nation’s higher education sector.

“This trend threatens the integrity of our universities and diminishes the hard work of scholars,” he said.

He further disclosed that the NUC has prepared a national guideline on the conferral and use of honorary degrees, which will soon be released.

The Commission will also collaborate with law-enforcement agencies to clamp down on illegal degree-awarding bodies.

Ribadu appealed for support from stakeholders and the public in safeguarding the dignity of Nigeria’s higher education system, saying, “let us restore honour to our honorary degrees and protect the credibility of academic achievements.”