10 Foreign Varsities, Four Unlicensed Local, 15 Professional Bodies, Others Found Issuing Fake Honorary Degrees

The National Universities Commission (NUC) has uncovered 32 institutions involved in the illegal and unethical awarding of honorary doctorate degrees in Nigeria, warning that strict sanctions will be imposed to protect the integrity of the nation’s higher education system.

The violators include 10 foreign universities, four unlicensed local universities, 15 professional bodies without degree-awarding powers, and three other institutions not authorised to confer academic titles.

The Executive Secretary of the NUC, Prof. Abdullahi Ribadu, disclosed the findings during a press briefing in Abuja, noting the growing misuse of honorary degrees by both awarding institutions and recipients. The revelation followed a report by a committee set up by the Commission to investigate abuses and public misuse of honorary doctorate degrees.

“Some of these organisations even confer fake professorships, further undermining the credibility of the nation’s academic system,” Ribadu said.

He condemned the increasing number of recipients who use honorary awards to falsely present themselves as PhD holders. “Using the title ‘Dr’ based on an honorary degree without clarification amounts to false representation,” Ribadu stressed. “This trend threatens the integrity of our universities and diminishes public trust in genuine academic qualifications.”

The NUC boss also expressed concern over the widespread disregard for the Keffi Declaration of 2012, an agreement by Nigerian vice-chancellors that prohibits universities from awarding honorary degrees to serving public officials and bars recipients from using the “Dr” title in professional or academic capacities.

Reaffirming the Commission’s regulatory powers under the Education (National Minimum Standards) Act, Prof. Ribadu stated that only legally approved public or private universities are authorised to award honorary doctorates in Nigeria. Even then, recipients must limit their use to titles such as Doctor of Literature (Honoris Causa) or D.Litt. (h.c.), and are prohibited from using the awards to supervise research, practise professionally, or hold administrative academic roles.

“The NUC has developed a national guideline for the award and use of honorary doctorate degrees, which will soon be published. Once released, we will begin an aggressive crackdown on illegal degree mills and individuals misusing honorary titles, in collaboration with law enforcement agencies,” he added.

Prof. Ribadu appealed to the public, security agencies, and higher-education stakeholders to support the initiative to “restore honour to honorary degrees” and protect the dignity of Nigerian universities.

“The awarding of honorary degrees is a legal responsibility of approved Nigerian universities, and misuse of such titles will not be tolerated. We call on all stakeholders to defend the reputation and integrity of our higher education system,” the statement concluded.