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NUC issues new rules on honorary doctorates
The guidelines limit honorary awards to a maximum of three recipients per convocation and require that the degrees carry the designation “Honoris Causa,” such as Doctor of Science (D.Sc. h.c.) or Doctor of Law (LL.D. h.c.).
The National Universities Commission (NUC) on Thursday, released fresh guidelines regulating the award and use of honorary doctorate degrees in Nigeria.
Honorary doctorate degrees are non-earned distinctions granted honoris causa to recognise distinguished merit, public service, scholarly impact, creative achievement or other significant contributions aligned with the values of the awarding institution.
In a public notice shared on its official X page, the Commission found widespread misuse of honorary degrees, with 32 entities among 61 institutions and professional bodies identified as operating as honorary degree mills — including unaccredited foreign universities, unlicensed local institutions and organisations without degree-awarding powers. Some were also found issuing fake professorships.
Consequently, the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Abdullahi Yusufu Ribadu, said that the new guidelines were developed in line with established academic traditions and resolutions of the Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, including the Keffi Declaration of 2012, alongside inputs from universities submitted in December 2025.
NUC said that the new rules are designed to standardise the conferment process, protect academic integrity and safeguard the credibility and global reputation of Nigeria’s university system. Universities and other degree-awarding institutions were directed to strictly comply, with sanctions promised for violations.
Under the new rules, only approved universities that have graduated their first set of PhD students are eligible to award honorary doctorates. The purpose, criteria and selection procedures must be clearly defined and publicly accessible, while nominations must pass through statutory committees and receive approval from both the University Senate and Governing Council.
The guidelines limit honorary awards to a maximum of three recipients per convocation and require that the degrees carry the designation “Honoris Causa,” such as Doctor of Science (D.Sc. h.c.) or Doctor of Law (LL.D. h.c.).
Awards must be conferred in person, except in exceptional circumstances where they may be given virtually, in absentia or posthumously.
The Commission stressed that honorary doctorates must be granted free of charge and recipients must not present the honour as an earned academic qualification.
NUC specifically warned that recipients cannot use the “Dr.” — which is reserved for holders of earned doctoral or medical degrees — nor use the award to supervise research, practise as scholars or manage academic units.
Universities are also required to provide recipients with orientation on the proper use of the honour, publish lists of awardees on their websites to promote transparency and establish clear mechanisms for revoking awards if recipients are convicted of fraud or engage in unethical conduct.
The NUC said all eligible universities must comply strictly with the framework, reiterating that regulatory sanctions will apply to institutions that confer honorary doctorates in breach of the new guidelines.
News
DHQ says JAS terrorists carried out Oyo kidnap
The DHQ denied reports suggesting it referred to terrorists operating in the South-West as ordinary criminals, insisting that such interpretations were inaccurate and misleading.
Photo: Maj Gen Michael Onoja
The Defence Headquarters disclosed that the attackers behind the Oyo abduction were members of the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad terrorist group displaced by sustained military offensives across the country.
Latest week, schools in communities at Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, were attacked by terrorists ; they abducted pupils, teachers and other residents from Community High School, Ahoro-Esinle.
The incident also left several persons dead, while one of the abducted teachers, Michael Oyedokun, was later killed after a video linked to the attack surfaced online.
In a statement signed by the Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj Gen Michael Onoja, the DHQ confirmed said that the attack was perpetrated by terrorists of the JAS Group that have been dislodged from other parts of the country due to high-intensity operations being conducted all over the country.
The DHQ denied reports suggesting it referred to terrorists operating in the South-West as ordinary criminals, insisting that such interpretations were inaccurate and misleading.
“It is, therefore, inaccurate and misleading to suggest that the Defence Headquarters, at any point, referred to vicious and violent terrorists as criminals,” Onoja stated
News
NYSC warns against night travel as 2026 Batch B Stream I orientation begins June 10
The orientation exercise will officially end on Tuesday, June 30, 2026.
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) announced Thursday that the 2026 Batch ‘B’ Stream I Orientation Course will begin on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, with the reception and registration of prospective corps members across the country.
In a statement signed by Caroline Embu, Director, Information and Public Relations, NYSC said that the registration would end at midnight on Friday, June 12, in all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The NYSC added that the swearing-in ceremony for prospective corps members mobilised for the 2026 Batch ‘B’ Stream I service year would also take place on Friday, June 12.
The orientation exercise will officially end on Tuesday, June 30, 2026.
The scheme wished all mobilised Nigerian graduates safe journeys to their various orientation camps nationwide and reiterated its warning against night travel.
It advised prospective corps members to suspend their journeys once it is 6pm and spend the night at any available corps members’ lodge, military formation, police station, outpost, or palace of a traditional ruler before continuing the next morning.
News
President Tinubu appoints 40 years old Prof Aina as JAMB Registrar
Prof Aina will succeed Prof Is-haq Oloyede, whose two-term tenure expires on July 31, 2026.
•Prof Segun Aina
President Bola Tinubu has appointed Professor Segun Aina as the new registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
Prof Aina will succeed Professor Is-haq Oloyede, whose two-term tenure expires on July 31, 2026.
Professor Aina, who will be 40 in July, is a distinguished academic and systems expert with extensive experience in national examination systems, digital infrastructure, and public-sector institutional reform.
A statement by the presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, stated that “President Tinubu expects Professor Aina to bring to bear his vast experience, knowledge and practical insight into the operations of the Board to take the critical educational organisation beyond the laudable heights achieved by his predecessor.”
A professor of computer engineering at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Aina began his career with JAMB during his National Youth Service, gaining foundational experience in national admissions and data-driven institutional processes.
These insights have shaped his ongoing contributions to examination reform and systems optimisation.
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