Former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, has urged the Federal Government to immediately halt the practice of appointing “failed politicians” and unqualified individuals as leaders of Nigerian universities.
Speaking on Saturday at the 3rd Professor Abdullahi Mahadi Annual Memorial Lecture held at Gombe State University (GSU), Jega described the politicisation of university leadership appointments as a major factor in the decline of academic standards and the erosion of institutional integrity in Nigeria’s higher education sector.
Delivering a lecture titled “Challenges and Prospects of Improving University Governance in Nigeria,” the former INEC boss insisted that universities require competent, experienced, and visionary academic leaders rather than political loyalists who lack understanding of university administration.
“A university is a specialised intellectual environment. It cannot thrive when leadership positions are turned into political compensation for those who failed in elections or have no academic standing,” Professor Jega stated.
He highlighted how political interference in the selection of vice-chancellors, governing council members, and other key officials has led to poor decision-making, deteriorating governance, and a deepening crisis in the quality of tertiary education.
Jega called for the adoption of merit-based, transparent, and competitive recruitment processes to ensure only the most qualified academics rise to leadership positions.
He warned that continued political meddling would keep producing graduates ill-equipped to drive national development.
The annual lecture, organised in honour of the late Professor Abdullahi Mahadi, pioneer Vice-Chancellor of Gombe State University and former Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, attracted academics, policymakers, students, and education stakeholders who largely endorsed Jega’s position and demanded urgent reforms.
In his remarks, the Vice-Chancellor of GSU, Professor Sani Ahmed Yauta, commended the legacies of the late Professor Mahadi and thanked Professor Jega and other dignitaries, including the Vice-Chancellor of Federal University of Kashere, Professor Umaru Pate, for their support of the memorial lecture series.
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