The Federal Government has announced decisive measures to curb the growing misuse of honorary doctorate degrees in Nigeria, following reports that some recipients allegedly pay up to N50 million to obtain the titles.
Speaking in Abuja on Friday during the presentation of the Committee Report on the Misuse of Honorary Doctorate Degrees, the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Abdullahi Ribadu, raised alarm over the increasing number of illegal and unaccredited institutions operating as honorary degree mills.
Ribadu criticised universities that disregard the Keffi Declaration of 2012, which prohibits awarding honorary degrees to serving political office holders.
He disclosed that 32 institutions have now become “factories” for producing such degrees, many of which are not recognised by law.
He warned that any university found guilty of violating guidelines will face sanctions, adding that the NUC will work with the National Assembly to establish a stronger legal framework to prosecute offenders.
According to him, the practice of conferring honorary titles on politicians or individuals able to offer large sums of money is an abuse of the academic system.
He said:
“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 added that the Keffi Declaration also cautions against recipients using the title ‘Dr’ without stating clearly that it is honorary, stressing that doing otherwise constitutes false representation and is punishable under existing fraud-related laws.
According to Ribadu, this trend “undermines the hard work of scholars and diminishes public trust” in the education sector.
The investigative report identified:
- 10 unaccredited foreign universities
- 4 unlicensed local universities
- 15 professional bodies without degree-awarding powers
- 3 other non-degree-awarding institutions
all involved in producing unearned honorary degrees. Ribadu said the list may not even be exhaustive and revealed that some institutions have gone as far as awarding fake professorships.
He emphasized that only approved and accredited universities, public or private, have the legal authority to confer honorary doctorate degrees in Nigeria.
Earlier, the committee chairman, Prof. Kabiru Bala, noted that only 27 out of over 312 universities submitted reports in response to the NUC’s inquiry.
He said the committee was set up in September following numerous petitions from citizens concerned about the widespread abuse of honorary titles.
The report recommended that the NUC enforce uniform standards for awarding honorary degrees nationwide.
The development comes just five months after Ghana banned the public use of honorary academic titles.
In June, the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) directed individuals to stop using honorary doctorate or professorship titles or face public exposure and possible legal action.
