Nigeria will have its legislative, presidential and gubernatorial elections in April 2011.

It will be important for Nigeria to hold credible elections that are not only transparent, but also elections where results that are deemed free and fair are respected by all parties involved in the contests.   Although Nigeria had one general election in the late 1990s that by many accounts was considered credible, it has not had the best track record on transparency or a fraud free process.

The Constituency for Africa (CFA), like many other organizations and Africa watchers, are hoping that the 2011 elections will change the course of Nigeria's history and usher in a new era of democratic and political maturity.   Successful elections will help Nigeria grow in line with the optimistic outlook it is currently enjoying on its economic growth as a result of the positive things that the country is doing on the macroeconomic front – setting the stage for future investment in key sectors such as power, housing, agriculture and telecommunications.

A credible election will also help set the stage to fight corruption more and improve development in such social sector issues such as education, potable water and health.   CFA wishes the nation and people of Nigeria well as they embarked on what we all hope will be a voting season that will produce the country's next truly democratic and credible elections.