President Barack Obama of the United States has named Secretary of State, John Kerry, to lead the American government delegation to the inauguration of Muhammadu Buhari as Nigeria’s president.
Mr. Buhari will be sworn into office on May 29, alongside his vice president-elect, Yemi Osinbajo.
“Today @POTUS announced that @JohnKerry will lead the U.S. Presidential Delegation to the inauguration of President-elect Buhari of #Nigeria,” the U.S. State Department tweeted late Monday.
Today @POTUS announced that @JohnKerry will lead the U.S. Presidential Delegation to the inauguration of President-elect Buhari of #Nigeria.
— Department of State (@StateDept) May 18, 2015
Some senior members of the U.S. Congress, including the Chairman of the US House of Representatives Sub Committee on Africa, Chris Smith, are also said to be planning to attend the event.
The U.S. President normally announces a delegation to the presidential inaugurations of friendly nations to be led by the Ambassador in that country.
But in rare occasions, he picks very senior public officials as the head of delegation to underscore how the US highly regards the country or the circumstances at a given point in time.
On Tuesday, Mr. Obama’s National Security Adviser, Susan Rice, also tweeted that, “Inauguration will mark a historic transfer of power and underscore the Nigerian people’s commitment to democracy.
Preparations have started for the inauguration that will hold on May 29.
General Buhari defeated the incumbent President, Goodluck Jonathan, in the March 28 presidential election with over two million votes, the first time an incumbent president would be defeated.
Leave a Reply