Vice President Kashim Shettima has departed Abuja for Libreville, Gabon, to represent Nigeria at the inauguration of the country’s President-elect, Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema.

A statement by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Communications (Office of the Vice President), Stanley Nkwocha, on Saturday said Shettima left on Saturday, at the instance of President Bola Tinubu.

Oligui Nguema, who had served as Gabon’s interim leader since August 2023, secured a decisive victory in the country’s April 12 presidential election.

“Nigeria remains supportive of the peaceful democratic transition in Gabon and reaffirms the government’s broader strategic interest in promoting democratic governance and regional stability in Central Africa.

“The Vice President is expected to return to Nigeria after the inauguration,” the statement added.

Nguema, who led a coup ending decades of Bongo family rule and swept polls last month with nearly 95 per cent of the vote,e will be sworn in Saturday.

The general and former junta leader, who toppled Ali Bongo in August 2023, ending 55 years of dynastic rule by the Bongo family, officially takes the presidential reins after leading a 19-month transition government.

Several African heads of state are expected to attend the inauguration in a 40,000-capacity stadium, north of the capital, Libreville.

They include Gambia’s Adama Barrow, Senegal’s Bassirou Diomaye Faye, Djibouti’s Ismail Omar Guelleh and Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo from Equatorial Guinea.