Ambassador C.L Laseinde I am delighted to observe that since the onset of ICCES, there has been marked improvement in terms of cooperation and coordination among security agencies, on one hand, and harmonization of operational plans between security agencies and INEC on the other. The result has been a seamless, effective and professional security coverage of elections to the extent that, Nigeria's elections are now cited as one of the best, all over the world The main reason why we are at Ikogosi today is the 21st June, 2014 Ekiti gubernatorial election and the subsequent one about a month from today in Osun state. I enjoin all those invited here, especially from Ekiti and Osun states to bare their minds and contribute meaningfully to deliberations at this workshop. I am pleased to observe that the National Union of Road Transport Workers(NURTW) which has always been a major stakeholder is at today's forum, as well as youths, political parties, the press and other major stakeholders, in the Ekiti and Osun elections. We can all learn from past experiences and suggestions, and then and provide useful recommendations on the way forward. What I need to emphasise here is the significance of the outcome of the Ekiti and Osun elections, in relation to the name and image of Nigeria. The two elections have an important bearing on the 2015 general elections. All efforts should be brought to bare before, during and after these elections to ensure that the outcome meets the hopes and aspirations of the Nigerian people. xxii Election Security: Stakeholders' Perspectives I want to re-assure all of us present here of the commitment of the NSA to provide necessary support at all times to INEC and the security agencies, towards ensuring that elections in Ekiti and Osun, as well as other elections in Nigeria, have the best outcomes in terms of being free, fair, peaceful, orderly and credible. I wish to seize this opportunity to thank the INEC Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega and his able team as well as Mrs Seija Sturies, the Head of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Foundation, Nigeria and her team, for jointly sponsoring this workshop, which is timely and desirably at this point in time in Nigeria's journey along the path of conducting peaceful and generally acceptable elections in Nigeria. I thank you all for listening. xxiii