Secretary Kerry to Attend Nigerian President’s Inauguration in May

The White House announced that John Kerry will lead the presidential delegation to Nigeria at the end of May to attend the newly-elected Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari’s inauguration.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — US Secretary of State John Kerry will lead the presidential delegation to Nigeria at the end of May to attend the newly-elected Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari’s inauguration, the White House announced.

“President Barack Obama today announced the designation of a Presidential Delegation to Nigeria to attend the Inauguration of His Excellency Muhammadu Buhari, President-elect of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on May 29, 2015,” the White House statement read on Monday.

The March 2015 Nigerian general elections resulted in the victory of Buhari. The peaceful democratic transition, the first since Nigeria became a democracy in 1999, is considered key to stability in the oil-rich nation wracked by corruption and the threat of the Boko Haram terrorist group.

Buhari has vowed to defeat Boko Haram and weed out corruption to improve living standards in Nigeria.

Boko Haram began military operations in Nigeria in 2009 intending to impose their version of the Islamic rule. The group, founded in 2002, first opposed western-style education, and is currently operating on the border of Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon.