Nigerian President Bola Tinubu Photo: OLUKAYODE JAIYEOLA
Bola Tinubu will be sworn in as Nigeria's president on Monday under the cloud of a disputed election and pressure to quickly improve economic and security conditions, which many complain worsened under his predecessor Muhammadu Buhari.
Two of Tinubu's main opponents in the February election challenged his victory on the basis of fraud claims, and a tribunal will, on Tuesday start hearing their main arguments. A ruling was not expected before September.
Buhari, a taciturn former military ruler, leaves Africa's biggest economy and most populous nation deeply divided.
The election galvanised young voters hoping for a break from the two parties that have dominated Nigerian politics since military rule ended in 1999. But what authorities promised would be the country's freest and fairest election yet ended in frustration for many.
Tinubu, a member of Buhari's All Progressives Congress who has long exerted influence from behind the scenes, won with 37 percent of the vote, the lowest share since 1999.
Buhari's record
Tinbu inherits a struggling economy with record debt, shortage of foreign exchange and fuel, a weak naira currency, near two-decades-high inflation, skeletal power supplies and falling oil production due to crude theft and underinvestment. A raft of protectionist economic policies and foreign currency interventions have also spooked investors.
Buhari defended his record, saying new infrastructure such as roads, bridges and airports, and the protectionist policies had laid the foundations for future growth.
He also touted successes in a 13-year fight against Islamist insurgents in the northeast, where his government ramped up military spending.
But insecurity continued to spread, and has left Nigerians feeling more unsafe. Killings and kidnappings for ransom were rampant in the northwest. Separatist and gang violence plagued the southeast, and clashes between farmers and herders persisted in hinterland states known as Nigeria's Middle Belt.
A former Lagos state governor, Tinubu has promised to be a better steward of the economy.
Opponents however remained sceptical: They saw him as part of an old guard that held back Nigeria and an entitled political "godfather" who said last year that it was his turn to lead after backing Buhari for the top job in 2015.
- Reuters
