NUC bans award of honorary degree to public officials

Mariam Abeeb

The Federal Government through the National Universities Commission, NUC has announced a clampdown on universities on the misuse of honorary doctorate titles.

Specifically, it warned universities against conferring honorary doctorate degrees on serving political office holders.

This is even as it revealed that some individuals procure the titles from institutions for as much as N50 million.

Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Abdullahi Ribadu, stated this in Abuja while receiving the report of the Committee on the Misuse of Honorary Doctorate Degrees by Recipients in Nigeria.

He expressed concern over the rise of unaccredited and illegal institutions operating as honorary doctorate degree mills in the country.

Prof. Ribadu lamented that many institutions fail to comply with the Keffi Declaration of 2012 where Vice-Chancellors prohibited the award of honorary degrees to serving political office holders.

The Executive Secretary revealed that 32 institutions have become factories for producing honorary doctorate degrees.

He cautioned that any institution found culpable would face penalties, adding that the Commission would work with the National Assembly to put a legal framework in place to punish violators.

He pointed out that giving the titles to serving political office holders amounts to seeking political patronage.

“To the extent that there are people who even buy, give the university N20 million, N30 million, N40 million, N50 million, get honorary doctorate degree, and they go about branding themselves as doctors, comparing themselves to people who have worked tirelessly to earn a PhD,” he said.

He added: “The Keffi Declaration also cautioned recipients against using the title ‘Dr’ without proper disclosure.

“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. Beyond the legal implications, this trend threatens the integrity of our universities and the value of genuine academic qualifications. It undermines the hard work of scholars and diminishes public trust in our education.