LIVE UPDATES: Tinubu sworn in as President

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been sworn in as the 16th President of Nigeria on May 29 (today) at a short event at the Eagles Square in Abuja.

No fewer than 20 presidents of countries around the world, including Africa witnessed the inauguration of Tinubu in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.

Tinubu’s inauguration marks the 7th consecutive democratic transition of power in the 24 years of unbroken democracy in Nigeria, following the return to civilian administration in 1999.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Bola Tinubu the winner of the polls four days after voting in the early hours of Wednesday, March 1 but not without controversy.

The former Governor of Lagos State beat his closest rivals Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) to the highest office.

Tinubu polled a total of 8,794,726 votes representing 36.61%. The first runner-up, Atiku Abubakar won 6,984,520 votes representing 29.07% and Peter Obi also garnered 6,101,533 votes which represents 25.40%.

Some facts about Tinubu

During his sojourn abroad, he worked for American companies Arthur Andersen, Deloitte, Haskins & Sells and GTE Services Corporation.

And upon his return to Nigeria in 1983, he joined Mobil Oil as an auditor, rising through the ranks to become an executive of the company.

He began to make inroads into the political Hall of Fame in 1992 when he was elected senator representing Lagos West Senatorial District in the short-lived third National Assembly.

He then joined forces with the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), a coalition of democrats demanding the military government led by General Sani Abacha to step down for the acclaimed winner of the 12 June 1993 election, the late Chief MKO Abiola.

After four years in exile, Tinubu returned to the country in 1998 to contest the governorship election in Lagos – his home state – as Nigeria prepared for a transition to democratic rule.

A two-term governor, Tinubu prides himself as the brain behind the transformation of Lagos from the doldrums to one of the largest economies in Africa.

And so do many of his allies who vigorously campaigned for his presidency based on this accomplishment.