Jega: I will return to the classroom after INEC

Attahiru Jega, outgoing chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has revealed his post-retirement plan.

Jega’s tenure at the electoral body elapses in three days, and the former vice-chancellor of Bayero University Kano (BUK) says he will be returning to his profession thereafter.

He made this known during an interactive session with journalists at a dinner organised in his honour by the Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (AVCNU) in Abuja on Thursday night.

He also spoke on the reason he appointed vice-chancellors as returning officers during the last general election.

“We were looking for people with integrity; and we have no doubt that there are many people with integrity in the Nigerian university system,” he said.

“So, it is like a ready-made constituency to get the kind of people we needed for the job to be done.

“That is not to say that only in the universities can you find people of integrity. We know that anybody who has risen in the system to become a vice-chancellor will not for anything damage his or her reputation by pandering to the wishes of politicians.”

Jega expressed delight that the vice-chancellors were pleased with the feat that they collectively achieved in the 2015 elections.

He also commended the staff of INEC for contributing to the success of the elections, saying he could not have done it alone.

Earlier in his remarks, Joseph Ajienka, chairman of  AVCNU, lauded Jega for rendering good service to his country and commended the vice-chancellors for the role they played during the polls.

“I thank also all the vice-chancellors that helped Jega in performing a national task that gave so much credibility to the last elections,” he said.

“It will go a long way in telling the world that vice-chancellors are capable of serving their country.”

Vincent Tenebe, chairman of the occasion and vice-chancellor, National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), said the 2015 election brought Nigeria to limelight, noting that the mode of election is being copied by many countries.

On his part, Nuhu Yakubu, an outgoing national commissioner of INEC, said the commission had gone through extreme pressure in the last five years.

Yakubu described Jega as “principled, meticulous, hardworking and courageous”, saying those factors helped him in conducting “two most successful elections in the history of the country”.