President-elect Bola Tinubu will be sworn in today as Nigeria’s 16th leader since the country’s independence in 1960.
Kashim Shettima will be inaugurated as the nation’s new vice president.
Both will be succeeding President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo whose second four-year term lapses today.
The inauguration of Messrs Tinubu and Shettima will hold at Eagle Square, Abuja.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on 1 March, declared Mr Tinubu, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the 25 February presidential election. He defeated 17 other candidates who took part in the election after polling 8,794,726 votes. He also scored over 25 per cent of the votes in over 25 states.
His closest rival, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a former vice president, polled a total of 6,984,520 votes while the Labour Party (LP) flag bearer, Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, garnered 6,101,533 votes and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) 1,496,687 votes.
Mr Tinubu, 71, will be inaugurated as the fifth president of the current Fourth Republic which began in 1999. He served as governor of Lagos State, the country’s economic hub, between 1999 and 2007. An accountant by profession, Mr Tinubu had previously served as a senator in the short-lived Third Republic.
Mr Shettima, 57, was governor of Borno State in the nation’s north-east region between 2011 and 2015 when he was elected to represent the state’s central district. The vice president-elect who is a professional banker served at various times as the state commissioner for finance and economic development, local government and chieftaincy affairs, education, agriculture and health.
Today’s ceremony, the 7th consecutive transition of power, holds at 10 a.m., according to the Presidential Transition Committee (PTC) constituted by the outgoing Buhari administration to midwife the transition programme. Previous presidents’ inaugurations were held in the same facility. The facility has since undergone renovation in preparation for today’s Inauguration.
The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Olukayode Ariwoola, is expected to administer the oath of office on Messrs Tinubu and Shettima. The inauguration was preceded by a number of other activities packaged by the 24-member PTC and held in the last eight days. They included the dinner in honour of the duo and the outgoing administration and the conferment of GCFR and GCON on them.
Foreign heads of state and government and dignitaries, including delegations from the US and the UK, will attend the inauguration. Several foreign and local media have also been accredited to cover the historic event.
Remarkably, the event is holding despite various moves to abort it through the plethora of court cases as well as protests by some groups. Messrs Atiku and Obi as well as the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) are currently challenging the declaration of Mr Tinubu as the winner of the February poll. The Presidential Election Petition Court has since consolidated the three petitions.
The transition council, chaired by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, said adequate arrangements have been made for the safety and security of the people attending the ceremony. Already, security has been beefed up in the federal capital, especially around Eagle Square located in the Central Business District of the territory. The police and paramilitary outfits have cordoned off the venue and restricted movements around Eagle Square to ensure a hitch-free ceremony.
PREMIUM TIMES
