Several African presidents and other foreign dignitaries have arrived in Nigeria for the inauguration of Bola Tinubu as the 16th president of the continent’s most populous nation.
Movements around Eagle Square in Abuja, the venue of the handover and inauguration parade, have been restricted until Tuesday.
Local media say about 20 African leaders are expected in Abuja.
Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame, Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune are among leaders who arrived on Sunday.
Also in Abuja is the president of Tanzania, Samia Suluhu Hassan, the president of the Republic of Congo Brazzaville, Denis Sassou Nguesso, the president of Guinea Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embaló and Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio.
The president of Burundi, Évariste Ndayishimiye, the transitional President of Chad Mahamat Déby, the president of Niger Republic, Mohamed Bazoum and President Nana Akufo-Ado of Ghana are also in Nigeria for the ceremony.
The prime cabinet secretary of Kenya, Musalia Mudavadi, will be representing President William Ruto.
A nine-member delegation from the US and Chinese officials led by a Communist Party senior member have also arrived for the event.
Mr Tinubu’s electoral victory is being challenged by opposition rivals.
On Tuesday, a tribunal will begin to hear the main arguments in the election petition.
The BBC News
