President Muhammadu Buhari has felicitated the President-elect of Zambia Hakainde Hichilema for winning the presidential election.
Hichilema, Zambia’s opposition leader, was on Monday declared the winner of last week’s bitterly contested presidential election.
He defeated the incumbent President Edgar Lungu by a landslide – more than a million votes.
Reacting shortly after the declaration of the result, President Buhari commended Zambians and noted that the prospect of a united, stable, and prosperous Africa lies in the power of the people to freely elect their leaders.
In a statement issued by his spokesman, Garba Shehu, the President said the citizens “came out in their numbers to exercise their civic rights, voting candidates of their choice.”
He also praised the outgoing President Edgar Lungu for accepting the outcome of the elections and a peaceful transfer of power.
While highlighting the close and historic relationship between Nigeria and Zambia, Buhari said he “looks forward to working very closely with the Zambian President-elect for the peace, development, and prosperity of both nations”.