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Just In: NUC bans ‘Dr’ prefix for honorary degree holders
BY JAMES UDOH—The National Universities Commission (NUC) has introduced fresh regulations governing how honorary degrees are granted in Nigerian universities, including a prohibition on awardees adopting the “Dr.” prefix.
According to the commission, this step is intended to address the excessive and careless distribution of such honors while safeguarding the credibility of academic titles. Under the updated policy, only institutions that have successfully produced their first batch of PhD graduates are permitted to award honorary degrees.
The NUC clarified that individuals who receive honorary doctorates are not allowed to place “Dr.” before their names. Instead, they should indicate the honor after their names using proper titles, such as Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) – D.Sc (H.C). It emphasized that the “Dr.” designation is reserved exclusively for those who have earned doctoral qualifications or are certified medical practitioners.
Additionally, the new directives forbid any monetary demands or expectations from recipients, stressing that such honors must be granted purely on merit and without cost.
To ensure stricter oversight, universities are now restricted to awarding no more than three honorary degrees during each convocation ceremony.
The post Just In: NUC bans ‘Dr’ prefix for honorary degree holders appeared first on Business Today NG.
Femi Otedola, chairman of First HoldCo Plc, has increased his stake in the financial services group to 25.86 per cent after acquiring 1.78 billion additional shares worth about ₦222.20 billion.
In a regulatory filing on Thursday, First HoldCo disclosed that Mr Otedola, through Calvados Global Services Limited, purchased 1,779,094,976 ordinary shares at ₦124.90 per share. The new share purchase represents 3.91 per cent of the company’s outstanding shares.
Following the transaction, Mr Otedola’s total holding in the banking group rose to about 11.8 billion shares, which is equivalent to 25.86 per cent of the company’s issued share capital.
Based on the company’s share price of ₦122.95 as of 11:24 a.m. (WAT) on 30 July, Mr Otedola’s stake is valued at about ₦1.45 trillion.
READ ALSO: FirstHoldCo delivers massive ₦653.5bn profit before tax in H1 2026
Mr Otedola has steadily increased his investment in First HoldCo since emerging as the company’s largest shareholder in 2021.
Most recently, on 22 July, he acquired an additional 706.1 million shares valued at ₦77.6 billion, raising his stake to 21.95 per cent at the time. In June, he also purchased 672.9 million shares worth ₦29.6 billion.
The June acquisition was completed during the ₦45 billion second tranche of First HoldCo’s ₦350 billion private placement programme, in which shares were offered at ₦44 per unit.
The group plans to inject the proceeds from the capital raise into First Bank of Nigeria Limited, its flagship commercial banking subsidiary, as part of its capital restoration and broader balance sheet strengthening programme.
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