The National Universities Commission (NUC) has released comprehensive guidelines for the award and use of honorary doctorate degrees in Nigerian universities.
The guidelines, dated Feb. 24, 2026, were conveyed to vice-chancellors of all Nigerian universities in a circular signed by the Acting Director, Executive Secretary’s Office, Adewale Bakare, on behalf of the Executive Secretary, Prof. Abdullahi Yusuf Ribadu.
According to the commission, the guidelines were developed in September 2025 and circulated in draft form to universities for input before final approval.
The NUC said the move was aimed at safeguarding the integrity of the university system, standardising procedures for the conferment of honorary degrees and curbing the growing incidence of misuse and abuse of such awards.
Under the new framework, only approved public and private universities are eligible to confer honorary doctorate degrees in Nigeria.
It added that only universities that have graduated their first set of PhD students would qualify to award honorary doctorates.
The commission stated that the purpose of honorary awards must be to recognise exceptional and sustained contributions, reflect institutional values and promote diversity.
It directed that criteria for selection must be clear and transparent, with balanced representation across gender, nationality and discipline, while procedures must be published on the official websites of awarding institutions.
The guidelines exclude self-nominations as well as elected or appointed serving public office holders from eligibility.
It further provides that all nominations must be processed by statutory committees and approved by both the University Senate and Governing Council.
The NUC also limited the number of honorary doctorate awards to a maximum of three per convocation ceremony.
On nomenclature, the commission directed that all honorary doctorate degrees must clearly bear the title Honoris Causa, such as Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa), D.Sc. (h.c.).
It clarified that while recipients may use the approved honorary title after their names, they must not use the prefix “Dr.”, which is reserved for holders of earned doctoral and medical degrees.
The guidelines also prohibit recipients from using honorary degrees to practise as scholars or professionals, supervise research or oversee administrative units.
The commission emphasised that honorary degrees must be conferred in person at a ceremony, except in exceptional cases where virtual conferment may be allowed.
However, it stressed that no honorary doctorate should be awarded in absentia, though it may be conferred posthumously.
The NUC directed that honorary awards must be granted without any fee or expectation of payment from recipients.
It also mandated universities to provide written and verbal orientation to awardees on the proper use of the honour.
To promote transparency, universities are required to publish names of honorary doctorate recipients on their official websites.
The guidelines further compel institutions to establish formal mechanisms for revoking awards where a recipient is convicted of fraud or engages in unethical conduct inconsistent with the values of the awarding university.
The commission urged vice-chancellors to ensure wide circulation and strict compliance with the new directives.
