UNN Promotes EX-INEC Anambra Resident Electoral Commissioner to Professor

By Praise Chinecherem

Former Anambra state Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Dr. Nkwachukwu Orji, has been promoted to the rank of Professor by the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Enugu state.

The promotion was announced Thursday after a meeting of the University’s Appraisal Committee at Nsukka following evaluation of his academic outputs and outstanding achievements.

Orji received his postgraduate training at the UNN, and Central European University, Budapest, where he earned Master’s and Doctoral Degrees in political science.

After completing his postgraduate education, he received further research and teaching experience at universities and research institutions in Nigeria and abroad.

These institutions included the Nordic African Institute (NAI), Uppsala; the Institute of Federalism, Fribourg; and the German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA), Hamburg.

Between 2014 and 2016, held the prestigious Post-doctoral Research Fellowship of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Bonn, Germany.

Prior to those periods, he received fellowships and bursaries from Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), Dakar; Refugee Study Centre, Oxford University; Melbourne School of Government, University of Melbourne; and African Peacebuilding Network, Social Science Research Council, New York.

Orji is a recipient of several honours, awards, and prizes for outstanding academic accomplishments. For instance, in April 2021, he was awarded the Peter Lyon Prize for the year 2020 by Routledge, the publishers of the prestigious academic journal, The Round Table.

Additionally, he received the Fellowship of the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) of the US Department of State Exchange Program in October 2018.

Orji has served as a consultant to several institutions and organizations, including Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), International Republican Institute (IRI), Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Nigeria Centenary Celebration, the Development Activities International (DAI).

He was also a consultant to the Constitution and Electoral Reform Committee (CERC), Department for International Development (DFID), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), The Electoral Institute, Institut Français de Recherche en Afrique (IFRA), and Johns Hopkins University Centre for Communication Programs (JHU/CCP).

In 2017, Orji was appointed by the Nigerian President as Resident Electoral Commissioner in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and was posted to Anambra State.

While in the State, he was responsible for implementing the activities of the Commission, including conducting the 2017 and 2021 Anambra State governorship elections, as well as the 2019 general elections.

Orji is a member of several professional bodies and learned societies, including Chartered Institute of Directors (CIoD), International Political Science Association (IPSA), Council of the Development of Social Research in Africa (CODESRIA), International Society for Third Sector Research, and Nigerian Political Science Association (NPSA).

He served on the Board of the CLEEN Foundation, Abuja, between 2016 and 2025, and as a Member of the Governing Council of the Police Academy, Wudil, Kano, between 2022 and 2023.

Prof. Orji has authored several monographs, articles, and reports on elections, democratization, peacebuilding, and Nigeria’s political development.