Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, yesterday, said the successful conduct of the 2015 general elections proved doomsday predictions wrong.

He also attributed much of the problems faced by the commission during the elections to attitude of the political class, unsettled legal framework and apathy among the electorate.

Jega, who made the comment when he received a delegation led by Mexican Ambassador to Nigeria, Marco Antonio Garcia Blanco, in his office in Abuja, insisted that some predictions, especially in some western media, suggesting that the outcome of the elections might lead to the end of the country had proven to be false due to the generally free, fair, credible and peaceful conduct of the elections.

He said: “We are, indeed, very happy that our elections turned out to be well and to have been recognized both nationally and internationally as free, fair, credible and also peaceful.

“Leading to the election, some impressions had been created, particularly in the international media as if this may be the end of our country. Thank God it was doomsday prediction which turned out to be false.”

Jega, who was delighted by the offer to share experiences with other countries, explained that though the 2015 elections were not perfect, they were much better than 2011 and admitted that there was room for improvement.

The INEC chairman said:  “We know that the election has not been perfect; we know that it was better than 2011, but there is also a lot of scope for improvement and that is why we welcome every opportunity to visit other countries and to see how they do their own elections and to be able to exchange ideas and to also learn good practices which we can continue to adapt to our own circumstances for continuous improvement of our own electoral process.”