Former Military Head of State and 2015 elected president Muhammadu Buhari and his running mate Prof Yemi Osibajo, sworn in about few hours ago at Eagles Square, Abuja, as the new president of Nigeria and Vice-president as a ceremony mixing military pomp with cultural tradition after they won the first opposition victory over a sitting president in the nation’s history.
The 72-year-old and his vice president elected took the oath of office before the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Supreme Court President Mahmoud Mohammed, to begin a four-year term in which he faces difficulties from the outset.
“I, Muhammadu Buhari, do solemnly swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he said at the ceremony at Abuja’s Eagle Square venue.
“That as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I will discharge my duties to the best of my ability and in accordance with the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the law.”
The former military general inherits a country facing crises on several fronts, from severe economic turmoil to Boko Haram’s still-raging Islamist insurgency.
Buhari’s inauguration, before past Nigerian leaders and serving heads of state from across the continent, comes 32 years after he seized power in a military coup and was ousted 20 months later.
Before taking the oath, he shook hands with the elected president he ousted in 1983, Shehu Shagari, and the general who deposed him, Ibrahim Babangida.