Former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Attahiru Jega, has defended the continued involvement of university professors in Nigeria’s electoral process, describing them as pillars of integrity who have repeatedly resisted bribes and pressure from politicians.
Naijaonpoint reports that Jega made the remarks on Thursday while speaking at The Platform, a Democracy Day event hosted by Covenant Nation in Lagos to commemorate June 12.
The respected political scientist and former Vice-Chancellor of Bayero University, Kano, noted that although a few cases of misconduct by academics had been reported, these isolated incidents should not overshadow the integrity and commitment shown by the majority.
Jega, who led the electoral commission between 2010 and 2015, introduced the practice of engaging professors and vice-chancellors as returning officers and ad hoc staff during elections. The initiative, he said, was meant to restore public confidence in the electoral process and ensure credibility.
Currently serving as a pro-chancellor and chairman of the Governing Council at Sa’adatu Rimi University of Education, Kano, and a member of the International Elections Advisory Council, Jega remains a vocal advocate for electoral reform, transparency, and institutional credibility.
In his statement, he said, “Election was terrible by the time we came to INEC. I was lucky, I was a co-chairman of the Committee of Vice Chancellors before I went to INEC.
“So, I used the vice-chancellors to help us get academic staff with good, transparent selection criteria, which they vouch for. That’s how we started using academic staff during elections.
“Up till 2015, in fact after the 2011 elections, the NBA (Nigerian Bar Association), and the NSE (The Nigerian Society of Engineers), all came and said they wanted to participate in the elections but we said: ‘Look, when you are doing something and it works, why change it?’
“So, we stuck with the professors, and I can tell you frankly, the level of integrity they brought to the election (is unmatched).
“A vice chancellor who has served 35 years in the university system, who has a few years to retire, a substantial overwhelming majority of them are not going to damage their integrity that they built over the years on the matters of election.
“Of course, politicians use all methods of inducements, but the fact that only about two professors, not to talk of vice-chancellors, have been prosecuted for electoral offenses, frankly, is statistically insignificant.
“It is terrible that it has happened, but I don’t think it is something we can use to say we shouldn’t use professors in the conduct of elections.”