After Nigeria’s independence in 1960, President-elect Bola Tinubu will be sworn in as the country’s 16th head of state today.
The new vice president of the country, Kashim Shettima, will take office.
Both will succeed Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and President Muhammadu Buhari, whose second four-year terms expire today.
At Eagle Square in Abuja, Messrs. Tinubu and Shettima will be inaugurated.
The winner of the presidential election held on February 25 was declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on March 1. Mr. Tinubu was the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC). After receiving 8,794,726 votes, he won the race over 17 other contenders. Additionally, he received more than 25% of the vote in more than 25 states.
His main rival, former vice president Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), received 6,984,520 votes, followed by Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), a former governor of Anambra State, who received 6,101,533 votes, and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), who received 1,496,687 votes.
The 71-year-old Mr. Tinubu will take office as the Fifth President of the Fourth Republic, which was established in 1999. Between 1999 through 2007, he presided as governor of Lagos State, the nation’s economic center. Mr. Tinubu, an accountant by trade, had previously held the position of senator under the brief Third Republic.
Between 2011 and 2015, when he was chosen to serve as the state’s central district representative, Mr. Shettima, 57, served as governor of Borno State in the nation’s north-east. The vice president-elect, a licensed banker, has held a variety of positions including state commissioner for local government and chieftaincy issues, education, agriculture, and health.
According to the Presidential Transition Committee (PTC), which was established by the departing Buhari administration to oversee the transition program, today’s ceremony, the seventh in a row, will take place at 10 a.m. The same location hosted the inaugurations of previous presidents. Since then, the building has undergone renovations in anticipation of today’s inauguration.
The oath of office for Messrs. Tinubu and Shettima is anticipated to be administered by Olukayode Ariwoola, Chief Justice of Nigeria. A variety of other events that were planned by the 24-member PTC and held over the previous eight days preceding the inauguration. They included the banquet held in their honor as well as that of the departing government, as well as the awarding of the GCFR and GCON to them.
The inauguration will be attended by delegations from the US and the UK as well as other foreign leaders of state and government. A number of domestic and international media outlets have been authorized to cover the historic occasion.
Surprisingly, the event is going on as planned despite numerous attempts to have it cancelled due to numerous court cases and complaints from some groups. The announcement of Mr. Tinubu as the victor of the February election is currently being contested by Messrs. Atiku and Obi as well as the Allied Peoples Movement (APM). The three cases have since been combined by the Presidential Election Petition Court.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, is the chair of the transition council, which declared that sufficient preparations had been taken to ensure the security and safety of all present at the ceremony. The federal capital’s security has already been stepped up, particularly around Eagle Square in the area’s Central Business District. To ensure a ceremony without hiccups, the police and paramilitary organizations have sealed off the location and restricted movement around Eagle Square.
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