BREAKING: FG bans honorary degree holders from Ulusing ‘Dr’ title

The Federal Government has prohibited recipients of honorary degrees from attaching the title “Dr” to their names.

Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, disclosed this during a media briefing held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Wednesday.

He explained that the directive was adopted at the Federal Executive Council meeting conducted on April 30.

According to Alausa, the measure is intended to curb the long-standing misuse of honorary degrees, which he said have increasingly been awarded for political favours and monetary benefits.

“The recent trend we’ve seen with the award of honorary degrees has revealed a growing abuse and politicisation of this academic privilege. We’ve seen awards being used for political patronage, for financial gain, as well as the conferral of awards on serving public officials, which, as part of the ethics of honorary degree awards, should not happen.”

The minister warned that institutions that flout the directive risk facing penalties, noting that vice chancellors have been instructed to tighten procedures surrounding such awards.

He further stated that universities must now obtain clearance from the Nigerian University Commission (NUC) before conferring honorary degrees.