Former INEC Chairman, Attahiru Jega, has accused Nigerian politicians of persistently attempting to bribe and compromise university professors deployed during elections, revealing that electoral officials are often targets of inducement.
Speaking on Thursday, June 12, at The Platform, a Democracy Day event organised by the Covenant Nation in Lagos, Jega disclosed that despite the pressure and temptation, most professors have remained upright and refused to be bought.
“Of course, politicians use all methods of inducements,” he said, “but the fact that only about two professors, not to talk of vice-chancellors, have been prosecuted for electoral offenses, frankly, is statistically insignificant.”
Jega, who served as chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from 2010 to 2015, pioneered the use of academics, particularly professors and vice-chancellors, as returning officers and ad hoc staff in national elections.
He explained that the idea was born out of a desire to restore credibility and integrity to Nigeria’s electoral process, which he described as being in a terrible state when he assumed office.
“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,” Jega said.
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He insisted that the involvement of academics significantly improved election outcomes, even as professional bodies like the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) later requested to participate.
“Up till 2015, in fact after the 2011 elections, the NBA and the NSE 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).”
Jega maintained that the few cases of convicted academics should not discredit the entire system, emphasising that most professors have little interest in tainting their lifelong careers for political gain.
“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,” he said.
Despite this defence, recent court rulings have spotlighted instances of electoral fraud involving professors.
In April 2025, the Court of Appeal in Calabar upheld the conviction of Professor Peter Ogban for manipulating election results in Akwa Ibom.
Similarly, in February 2025, Professor Ignatius Nduk was sentenced to three years in prison for publishing false election results in the 2019 Essien Udim State Constituency race.
Jega, who now serves as the Pro-Chancellor of Sa’adatu Rimi University of Education in Kano and is a member of the International Elections Advisory Council, urged Nigerians not to let these rare incidents overshadow the broader role of professors in safeguarding Nigeria’s democracy.