SAN FRANCISCO, May 28, (THEWILL) – Nigeria will in a few hours inaugurate Muhammadu Buhari and Yemi Osinbajo as President and Vice President, respectively in a ceremony that is expected to be packed at the Eagle Square in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city.
Friday’s ceremony will see incumbent President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and Vice President, Arc. Namadi Sambo, who lost their re-election bid, transfer power to opposition candidates, retired army General and Professor Osinbajo, a distinguished Nigerian lawyer and Christian preacher.
This is Nigeria’s first transfer of power from the ruling party to the opposition since 1999, when democracy was restored after years of military rule.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates defeated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidates by about 2.6 million votes in the March 28, 2015 Presidential election. The APC also won majority of the seats in the National Assembly, giving it full control of the 8th National Assembly.
Dozens of Heads of State from Africa and high-powered government delegations from the West including United States Secretary of State, Senator John Kerry, are scheduled to witness the inauguration of a new President for Africa’s biggest democracy and economy.
Nigeria’s police chief and heads of the nation’s security services have assured that the Eagle Square venue will be well secured as well as major hotels and other strategic locations where people are likely to gather to celebrate. The government has declared Friday a work free day.
Buhari won on the promise that he would eradicate corruption and restore sanity in government.
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