The National Universities Commission (NUC) has announced a strict ban on the award of honourary doctorate degrees to serving public officials, as part of sweeping new measures to curb what it calls the “growing abuse” of such titles across Nigeria.

The Executive Secretary of the commission, Prof. Abdullahi Yusufu Ribadu, who made the declaration yesterday in Abuja while receiving a report on the misuse of honorary degrees, said the decision followed a nationwide investigation that uncovered rampant malpractice, including the activities of 32 institutions operating as honorary degree mills.

According to the committee’s findings, the 32 implicated institutions include 10 unaccredited foreign universities, four unlicensed local institutions, 15 professional bodies with no authority to award degrees, and three non-academic organisations, adding that they go as far as awarding fake professorships.

He said: “These degrees are meant to recognise exceptional achievement, but they are increasingly being misused. More troubling is the proliferation of unaccredited institutions, both local and foreign, that operate as honorary degree mills. They offer these degrees without merit, without oversight, and without legitimacy.”

The NUC boss noted that many of the abuses uncovered violated the Keffi Declaration of 2012, which bars universities from awarding honorary degrees to serving public officials and warns recipients against styling themselves as “Dr” without clarification.

“This is not only unethical; it is unlawful. Using the title ‘Dr’ based on an honorary degree amounts to false representation, which attracts penalties under Nigerian fraud-related laws.” Ribadu emphasised that only accredited Nigerian universities were legally permitted to confer honorary doctorates.

Even then, recipients may only use the appropriate designations such as Doctor of Literature (Honoris Causa) or D.Litt. (h.c.) — and must refrain from using “Dr” as a title.