he National Universities Commission (NUC) has warned against the “increasing incidence of indiscriminate conferment and misuse” of honorary doctorate degrees within the Nigerian university system, issuing comprehensive guidelines to regulate the process.
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In a public notice signed by the Executive Secretary, Professor Abdullahi Yusufu Ribadu, FCVSN, the Commission said appropriate sanctions will be imposed on any institution found to have violated the NUC guidelines, as well as on individuals who misuse honorary titles.
“The Commission has observed, with grave concern, the increasing incidence of indiscriminate conferment and misuse of Honorary Doctorate Degrees within the Nigerian University System,” the notice stated.
“In response to this development, the Management of the Commission has approved comprehensive Guidelines for the Award and Use of Honorary Doctorate Degrees in Nigeria. The Guidelines are intended to regulate the conferment process, preserve academic integrity and safeguard the credibility of the Nigerian University System.”
The NUC reminded the general public that honorary doctorate degrees, whether awarded by institutions within Nigeria or abroad, are honorary distinctions and should not be represented or regarded as equivalent to earned academic doctorate qualifications.
The comprehensive guidelines issued by the NUC include:
Institutional Eligibility: Only approved universities (either public or private) are eligible to award honorary doctorate degrees in Nigeria.
Maturity Requirement: Only universities that have graduated the first set of PhD students are eligible to award honorary doctorate degrees.
Recipient Eligibility: Self-nominated candidates and elected or appointed serving public officials are excluded from receiving honorary doctorates.
Maximum Number: The number of awards at each convocation shall not exceed three.
Nomenclature: All honorary doctorate degrees shall contain the nomenclature or title “Honoris Causa.” For example, Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) or D.Sc. (h.c.).
“Cannot Use ‘Dr.’ Title”
On the usage of the award, the NUC stated clearly that recipients are not permitted to use “Dr.” before their names.
“The recipients are at liberty to use the approved nomenclature or title of the honorary doctorate degree such as Doctor of Law (Honoris Causa) or LLD (h.c.), Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa) or DLitt (h.c.) after their names. However, they are not permitted to use ‘Dr.’, which is reserved for holders of earned degrees and medical professionals.
“Additionally, they are not permitted to use the honorary doctorate degree to practice as scholars or professionals, oversee administrative units, or supervise research work,” the guidelines stated.
The guidelines stipulate that:
- All nominations shall be processed by the statutory committee
- All nominations require University Senate and Governing Council approval
- All aspects of the honorary doctorate degrees shall be treated with the highest level of confidentiality
- Nominees shall only be contacted after their nominations have been approved by the Senate and Governing Council
- Conferment shall be in-person at the ceremony, though in exceptional cases, it may be done virtually or in absentia, and may be awarded posthumously
- Honorary doctorate degrees shall be conferred without any fee or expectation of payment from the recipients
The NUC directed that all universities shall regularly publish names of honorary doctorate degree recipients on their official website and make it accessible to the public, in order to uphold transparency.
All awarding universities shall also provide a formal mechanism to rescind awards if a recipient is convicted of fraud or has engaged in any unethical conduct that is inconsistent with the values of the awarding institution.
All awarding universities shall provide both written and verbal orientation to recipients on how to use the award.
The NUC noted that the directive is consistent with the principles enshrined in the Keffi Declaration of 2012, to which all Vice-Chancellors were signatories.
The Commission stated that in developing these guidelines, due regard was given to established academic traditions governing the award of honorary degrees in Nigeria, including comments and inputs from Nigerian universities submitted to the Commission in December 2025.
Honorary Doctorate Recipients Not Permitted To Use 'Dr.' Title, Reserved For Earned Degrees And Medical Professionals — NUC Issues Guidelines“Please note that appropriate regulatory sanctions shall be imposed on any institution found to have violated the NUC-approved Guidelines, as well as on individuals who misuse honorary titles,” the notice warned.
“Accordingly, all Nigerian Universities and other degree-awarding institutions are hereby directed to strictly adhere to the provisions of the NUC-approved Guidelines.”
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