FG Stops Honorary Degree Holders From Using ‘Dr’ Title

The Federal Government has banned holders of honorary degrees from using the title “Dr” in any official or professional setting. The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, announced the decision in Abuja, explaining that it is meant to stop the misuse of academic titles and restore credibility to the system. According to him, honorary awards have increasingly been abused for political and financial reasons. He added that recipients must now clearly show the honorary nature of their awards after their names instead of using “Dr.” The policy also limits honorary degrees to specific categories and bars universities without active PhD programmes from awarding them. The government warned that presenting honorary degrees as earned qualifications will be treated as academic fraud.