Lagos, (EFE) to complaints about alleged irregularities issued by the opposition.
“As President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I will carry out my duties to the best of my ability and in accordance with the Constitution,” Tinubu said during his oath at the central Eagle Square in Abuja, the Nigerian capital.
In this way, Tinubu, 71 years old and from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party, has succeeded the former Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari, 80, who was unable to present his candidacy in the last elections after having exhausted the two terms in power allowed by the Constitution.
“The peaceful transition from one government to another is now part of our political tradition. This handover symbolizes our trust in God and our enduring faith in a representative government and in our ability to reshape this nation,” the new Nigerian president said in his inauguration speech.
“For many years, critics of Nigeria have spread the rumor that our nation will divide and even die. Yet here we are. We have stumbled many times, but our resilience and diversity have kept us going,” she added.
A dozen heads of state
The ceremony was attended by, among others, the heads of state of South Africa, Algeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, the Republic of Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Botswana, Niger, Gambia, Burundi and Chad, as well as government delegations from China and the United States.
Contested results
According to the country’s electoral authorities, Tinubu won the presidential election with 36% of the vote.
However, those results have been challenged in court by Tinubu’s main rivals in the presidential race, veteran opposition Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), who received 29% of the vote; and Peter Obi, leader of the Labor Party (PL), who came in third with 25% of the vote.
Fraud
Both opposition leaders denounced fraud and requested the cancellation of the results after the electronic transmission from the polling stations could not be carried out completely, something that the Electoral Commission attributed to “technical failures.”
It was the first time that Nigeria – the most populous country in Africa (with more than 213 million inhabitants), as well as one of the main oil producers and the largest economy on the continent – used this technology in a general election, adopted to prevent possible irregularities.
decision respected
During his inauguration speech, Tinubu indicated that while the last “close” elections were “the best quality” since Nigeria’s restoration of democracy in 1999, he respects the decision of his “opponents” to take the results to the courts.
“It is your right and I fully defend your exercise of that right,” he added.
Tinubu was already president of Lagos
Tinubu, who ruled the influential southern state of Lagos from 1999 to 2007, inherits a nation plagued by growing insecurity in some parts of the country, with constant attacks by criminal gangs who kidnap civilians for lucrative ransom, jihadist groups and pro-independence rebels. .
It will also have to tackle economic problems such as the devaluation of the naira, runaway inflation and high unemployment.