[1] On 8 June 2010, he was nominated by then President Goodluck Jonathan as the new chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), subject to Senate confirmation, as a replacement for Professor Maurice Iwu, who was sacked two months earlier.

On 29 April 2010, he was invited as a guest lecturer for the NLC May Day celebration where he presented a paper on 50 Years of Nationhood: Challenges of Good Democratic Governance, Credible Election and the Working Class.

[11] Reactions to the announcement from a broad spectrum of political leaders and organisations were positive, although some voiced concern that it could be too late to implement real reforms before the 2011 elections.

"[13] Nonetheless, a 23 March 2015 article in Vanguard asserted that "most experts believe Jega will seek to declare an accurate result as quickly as possible, regardless of any political interference he may face.

"[13] On the 28 of March 2015, under his leadership, elections were conducted in what Nigerians and the World see as free, fair and credible which declared the APC presidential candidate General Muhammadu Buhari as winner defeating the incumbent president Goodluck Jonathan.