Address by Ambassador C.L Laseinde, Representative of the National Security Adviser Mr Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Professor Attahiru Jega, ably represented by Professor'Lai Olurode, Mrs Seija Sturies Resident Representative of Friedrich­Ebert-Stiftung(FES) Foundation, Nigeria, INEC Resident Electoral Commissioners for Ekiti and Osun states, Mr Mike Zuokumor, DIG Operations, other heads of security agencies present, Senior INEC officials, Ladies and Gentlemen. It is my pleasure to welcome all of you to this important workshop and convey the warm greetings of the National Security Adviser(NSA) Mohammed Sambo Dasuki to this important forum. The role of security agencies during elections is quite important and necessary to the security of the electoral process. This role has always been played since the onset of elections in Nigeria. However, what is novel is the current cooperation and synergy introduced by the INEC Chairman in form of the Inter-agency Consultative Committee on Election Security(ICCES). The forum has concentrated on the retooling of the role of individual agencies, and the operational plans put in place by them to secure every single election, whether at constituency, state or federal levels. The ICCES has also taken pains to examine the problems encountered at every single election, towards taking proactive measures to ensure that such mistakes are not repeated. xx xxi