The swearing-in ceremony for Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, who won the election under the slogan "Now it's my turn," took place Monday in Abuja. The inauguration, which took place in Eagle Square, was broadcast by Africa's leading national and regional television stations, including Nigeria's Channels TV.
Tinubu took the presidential oath of office from Nigeria's Chief Justice Olukayode Ariwoola. "I swear to uphold and defend the Constitution of Nigeria," Tinubu, 71, said as he became Nigeria's 16th president. He succeeds Muhammadu Buhari, who had been in power since 2015.
More than 20 African heads of state arrived in Abuja for the ceremony. Nigeria is the most populous country on the continent, with a population of 213 million. It also ranks first in Africa in terms of GDP.
About Tinubu
Born in 1952 in Lagos, Bola Tinubu belongs to the largest Yoruba ethnic group in Nigeria and is a Muslim. He received his primary education in Nigeria and his tertiary education in the United States, where he studied at Chicago State University. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting in 1979. While studying in the US, Tinubu worked for major consulting and audit firms Arthur Andersen, Deloitte, Haskins & Sells, and the GTE Services Corporation telecommunications. Upon his return to Nigeria in 1983, he joined the national division of the American oil company Mobil Oil, and later became a member of its management. According to media reports, the Tinubu family now has stakes in oil, transportation, construction, hospitality and media companies.
Tinubu began his political career in 1992. Seven years later, he was elected governor of Lagos State and was re-elected for a second term in 2003. Tinubu has not held official office since, but has retained his status as one of Nigeria's most influential politicians.
Tinubu's wife, Oluremi Tinubu, a devout Christian and biologist, has been a senator from the Central Lagos constituency since 2011. They have three children. In addition, Bola Tinubu has three children from previous marriages.
Election 2023
In the June 2022 interparty primaries, Tinubu was elected as the ruling All Progressives Congress Party (APCP) candidate for the 2023 elections. He campaigned for president under the slogan "Now it's my turn." The incumbent president of Nigeria, Buhari, who no longer had the constitutional right to run for office, supported Tinubu.
In his election program, Tinubu promised to put an end to the activities of Islamist terrorist groups in the country, as well as to ensure accelerated economic growth of 6-10% of GDP annually. Tinubu also promised to end government subsidizing of gasoline prices, introduce a free floating national currency, the naira, increase oil production fourfold to 4 million barrels a day by 2030 and natural gas by 20% by 2027, and develop information and communication technologies.
The presidential elections were held in Nigeria on February 25, with 18 candidates running. Acting President Muhammadu Buhari was not among them. The election commission announced March 1 that Tinubu, the candidate of the ruling APCP party, had won the election with 8.7 million votes (37%). Twenty-eight percent of the total number of registered voters (about 90 million people) took part in the vote.
On March 21, four opposition candidates filed lawsuits demanding to review the election results. They claim that the voting was fraudulent and manipulative. The lawsuit process did not prevent the current inauguration and Tinubu's taking office as president of Nigeria for the next four years.
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Photo: Chatham House/Creative Commons 2.0
Based on materials from TASS