The National Universities Commission (NUC) has uncovered 32 institutions involved in the illegal and unethical award of honorary doctorate degrees, vowing tough sanctions to protect the integrity of Nigeria’s higher education system. The 32 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.

Executive Secretary of the Commission, Prof. Abdullahi Ribadu, disclosed this during a press briefing in Abuja, lamenting the growing abuse of honorary degrees by both awarding institutions and recipients. Ribadu’s remarks followed the presentation of a report by a committee set up by the Commission to investigate Awards and Public Misuse of Honorary Doctorate Degrees by Recipients.

The NUC boss reiterated the ban on the award of honorary Doctorate Degrees to public office holders, warning that until they are out of office, no public official qualifies for the honors. He noted that the violations cut across federal, state, and private universities, with several institutions flouting the Keffi Declaration of 2022, a framework agreed upon by Vice Chancellors to guide honorary degree awards.

Ribadu cited former President Goodluck Jonathan’s recent award from Nile University as an example of compliance, noting that recipients should ideally be individuals who have long left public office. He said the NUC will approach the National Assembly to push for legislation that criminalises the improper award and misuse of honorary doctorates.

The Commission has developed a national guideline on the award and use of honorary doctorates, which will soon be published. Ribadu announced that the NUC, in collaboration with law enforcement agencies, will commence a nationwide clampdown on illegal honorary degree mills ¹ ².