Institute Team

Abubakar O. Sulaiman is the Director-General, National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS). He is an indigene of Kwara State in North-Central Nigeria. Prior to his appointment as DG, he served at various levels of government culminating in his appointment as the Minister for National Planning and Deputy Chairman, National Planning Commission by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. He also served as the Deputy Chairman, Nigeria Economic Council and Chairman, Transition Technical Sub-Committee responsible for managing the transition between the government of President Jonathan and that of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015. Prof. Sulaiman has represented the people and government of Nigeria in several capacities on the international front, notably as the Nigerian delegate to the United Nations Ordinary General Assembly in 2015. He has widely researched, published and delivered papers at various high-level conferences and capacity development activities both in Nigeria and internationally. The university don has spent over two decades engaged in teaching and research at the University of Abuja and has supervised numerous undergraduate and postgraduate dissertations and theses. He holds a B.Sc. degree in Political Science from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; an M.Sc. in International and Strategic Studies from the University of Jos; and a Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of Abuja. In his capacity as the Director-General of NILDS, Prof. Sulaiman is charged with the general responsibility for matters relating to the day-to-day management and operations of the Institute, the only body charged with the statutory responsibility of building the capacity of the Legislature and other institutions of democracy in Nigeria, the ECOWAS sub-region and internationally.

Professor Attahiru Muhammadu Jega was the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Nigeria, between June 2010 and June 2015, during which time he presided over the preparation and conduct of the widely acclaimed 2011 and 2015 general elections. Prior to being at INEC, he was the Vice-Chancellor of Bayero University, Kano, between September 5, 2005 and June 30, 2010. He was also a one-time Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), 1995–1996; Director, Centre for Democratic Research and Training, 2000–2004; President, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), 1988–1994; and Vice President of ASUU, 1986–1988. Professor Jega was born in Kaduna on January 11, 1957. He attended Sabon Gari and Town Primary Schools in Jega from 1963 to 1969, and Government Secondary School, Birnin Kebbi from 1970 to 1974. He did preliminary studies at ABC/ABU, Kano from 1974 to 1975, and obtained his B.Sc. (Hons.) in Political Science from ABU, Zaria in 1978. After NYSC in the former Cross River State in 1978/1979, he was employed as a Graduate Assistant by Bayero University, Kano in July 1979. Subsequently, he obtained an M.A. in 1981, a Post-Graduate Diploma in African Studies in 1982 and a Ph.D. in 1985 from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA. All the degrees are in Political Science. He rose to the rank of Professor of Political Science at Bayero University in October 1997. Professor Jega has published extensively on Nigerian politics, elections, democratisation, identity politics and transition to democracy, among other subjects. He has authored or co-authored 23 books, 15 monographs, and 45 journal articles and book chapters, in addition to numerous conference papers and public lectures. Professor Jega is a recipient of many prestigious honours and awards, including the Nigerian National Honour of Officer of the Federal Republic (OFR) in 2005, IFES' Charles T. Manatt Democracy Award in 2015, and ICPS' Election Commissioner of the Year Awards in 2013 and 2015. He is also a recipient of five honorary doctorate degrees from Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti; the University of Nigeria, Nsukka; Modibbo Adama University of Science and Technology, Yola; the University of Lagos; and the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta.

Dr. Bethel Uzoma Ihugba is an accomplished scholar with expertise in Public Law and Development, International Business Law, Cyber Security and Artificial Intelligence and the Law. As Coordinator of the Centre for Advanced Executive Education Programme (CAEEP), he leads a team of experts in the development and delivery of Advanced Executive Education for Chief Executives and senior management of private and public organisations, including Ministers, Commissioners, Directors-General, Executive Secretaries, Permanent Secretaries and director-cadre staff of MDAs, leadership of legislatures, political parties, civil society organisations, tertiary education institutions and private corporate organisations, among others. Dr. Ihugba has led and worked on various legislative and regulatory development projects, including initiatives on reforms of the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria. He was the lead facilitator for the House of Representatives' review of the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria from 2016 to 2018 and a member of the Federal Ministry of Finance Committee for the Review of the Consolidated Insurance Bill 2013, completed in 2016. He contributed his expertise as a member of the Tax Laws Review Committee 2018/2019 and to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's Tax Reform Committee through NILDS. He was the facilitator of the European Union Parliament Democracy Support and Election Coordination Group and NILDS collaboration for capacity building of legislators and legislative staff from 2016 to 2019. Dr. Ihugba is a co-compiler of the Nigerian Association of Law Teachers Manual on Legal Research, Basic Guide for Law Faculties and Legal Research Institutions in Nigeria 2021 (reprinted 2022), the approved and compulsory guide for scholarly legal research in law faculties in universities and legal research institutes in Nigeria. He is the author of the seminal text, Introduction to Legal Research Method and Legal Writing 2020. He has multiple policy briefs, policy analyses, legislative advisories, conference papers and scholarly publications to his credit. Dr. Ihugba is a two-time awardee of the Institute's highest award, the Director-General's Best Staff of the Year for research staff in 2020/2021 and 2022 respectively, and the Best Departmental Staff of the Department of Legislative Support Services in 2020/2021. Before his appointment as the Coordinator of CAEEP, he held various leadership positions, including Deputy Director and Head of the Legal Research Division of the Department of Legislative Support Services, and briefly Acting Director of the Department of Legislative Support Services from December 2024 to March 2025. He is a member of several professional bodies, including the Nigerian Bar Association and the Nigerian Association of Law Teachers. He also lectures in the NILDS/University of Benin postgraduate law programme and other NILDS collaborations.