The inauguration of the president of Nigeria is a ceremony to mark the commencement of a new four-year term of the

president of Nigeria The president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is the head of state and head of government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the Niger ...

. During this ceremony, some 90 to 95 days after the presidential election, the president takes the presidential oath of office. The

inauguration In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugu ...

takes place for each new presidential term, even if the president is continuing in office for a second term. The first inauguration of

Shehu Shagari Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari (25 February 1925 – 28 December 2018), titled Turakin Sokoto from 1962, was the first democratically elected President of Nigeria, after the transfer of power by military head of state General Olusegun Obasanjo in ...

took place on 1 October 1979 the independence day of Nigeria. Since the beginning of the fourth republic in 1999, all inaugurations have been held on 29 May. The most recent presidential inauguration was held on 29 May 2019, when

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician and current president of Nigeria since 2015. Buhari is a retired Nigerian Army major general who served as the country's military head of state from 31 December 1983 to 27 Au ...

resumed his second term in office.

Recitation A recitation in a general sense is the act of reciting from memory, or a formal reading of verse or other writing before an audience. Public recitation is the act of reciting a work of writing before an audience. Academic recitation In a ...

of the presidential oath of office is the only component in this ceremony mandated by the

Nigerian Constitution The Constitution of Nigeria is the written supreme law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Nigeria has had many constitutions. Its current form was enacted on 29 May 1999 and inaugurated the Fourth Nigerian Republic. History Nigeria's st ...

. The chief justice typically administers the presidential oath of office. Since 1999, the oath has been administered at six scheduled public inaugurations, by five chief justices. The ceremony has been held at the

Eagle Square, Abuja The Eagle Square is the main square in Abuja, the capital of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is located in front of the Abuja International Conference Centre. Its name "Eagle Square" comes from the fact the square has an eagle shape. It is di ...

, the main square of the

capital city A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, Department (country subdivision), department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city ...

since the beginning of the fourth republic.

Oath of office

The

Constitution of Nigeria The Constitution of Nigeria is the written supreme law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Nigeria has had many constitutions. Its current form was enacted on 29 May 1999 and inaugurated the Fourth Nigerian Republic. History Nigeria's st ...

specifies an oath of office for the president of the federation. The oath is administered by the

chief justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria The Chief Justice of Nigeria or CJN is the head of the judicial arm of the government of Nigeria, and presides over the country's Supreme Court and the National Judicial Council. The current Chief Justice is Olukayode Ariwoola who was appo ...

or the person for the time being appointed to exercise the functions of that office:

List of inauguration ceremonies

The 8 inauguration ceremonies marking the start of a new four-year presidential term of office and also the one marking the start of a partial presidential term following the intra-term death of the incumbent president are listed in the table below.

Notes

References

{{Reflist, 30em Presidential inaugurations Politics of Nigeria