NIGERIA-PRESIDENT/HANDOVER DINNER Jonathan hosts farewell dinner on eve of Nigeria's inauguration of new president

Record ID: 165427

  • Title: NIGERIA-PRESIDENT/HANDOVER DINNER Jonathan hosts farewell dinner on eve of Nigeria's inauguration of new president
  • Date: 28th May 2015
  • Summary: **** WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY **** FORMER PRESIDENT OLUSEGUN OBASANJO WALKING IN JONATHAN, BUHARI STANDING JONATHAN, BUHARI SITTING DOWN JONATHAN, BUHARI SEATED VARIOUS OF GUESTS, DIGNITARIES ATTENDING DINNER (SOUNDBITE) (English) SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT OF FEDERATION, ANYIM PIUS-ANYIM, SAYING: "It is also for Mister President to especially thank Nigerians for the support he enjoyed from them while in office, and in the same vein, for the democratic community in Nigeria to bid Mister President farewell as he hands over to his worthy successor, General Muhammadu Buhari. And finally, the third purpose of this event is to further convey Mister President's hearty welcome to the leadership of our country to his successor." WIDE OF DINNER HALL VARIOUS OF DIGNITARIES SEATED FOR DINNER EVENT
  • Embargoed: 12th June 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Nigeria
  • City:
  • Country: Nigeria
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA40WACGGASTOAQJW1OIVPPN769
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Nigeria's outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan hosted a dinner event at the state banquet hall in Aso Villa on Thursday (May 28) to mark his handover to president elect, Muhammadu Buhari.
    Buhari was elected at the end of March, becoming the first Nigerian to oust a sitting president through the ballot box.
    Attending Thursday night's event were former heads of state, representatives and presidents of various countries.
    The dinner came hours ahead of Buhari's swearing in ceremony in Abuja.
    Anyim Pius-Anyim, the secretary to the government of the federation, delivered a statement during the dinner event.
    "It is also for Mister President to especially thank Nigerians for the support he enjoyed from them while in office, and in the same vein, for the democratic community in Nigeria to bid Mister President farewell as he hands over to his worthy successor, General Muhammadu Buhari. And finally, the third purpose of this event is to further convey Mister President's hearty welcome to the leadership of our country to his successor," Anyim said.
    As he entered his final week in office, Jonathan had offered up a prayer for the success of Muhammadu Buhari, the former military ruler who is taking the helm of Africa's biggest economy on Friday (May 29).
    However, if Buhari's All Progressives Congress (APC) is to be believed, that goodwill did not stretch as far as the thousands of pro-Jonathan bureaucrats preparing for Nigeria's first democratic transfer of power.
    Citing weeks of strike action by fuel distributors that crippled the economy, the APC accused outgoing officials of creating an "atmosphere of contrived chaos" to sully 72-year-old Buhari's moment of political triumph.
    Earlier on Thursday, Jonathan took Buhari on a short tour of the presidential villa in Abuja, at the end of which he urged unity to "build a stronger and more prosperous nation".
    Buhari responded by thanking Jonathan for swiftly conceding defeat in the March 28 election, rather than challenging or disputing the result -- an outcome that could have unleashed political violence.
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