Nigeria has sworn in a new president hours after the death of leader Umaru Yar'Adua.
Goodluck Jonathan, who has been acting president since early February, took the oath this morning in the presidential villa in Abuja.
"He was not just a boss, but a good friend and a brother," he said of the president.
President Yar'Adua, 58, who had a long history of kidney ailments and recently suffered from an inflamed heart, died overnight. He will be buried this afternoon in his home state of Katsina.
An announcer on national television said: “The president and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, died a few hours ago at the presidential villa.
“Security aides notified the national security adviser, General Anou Bissou, who immediately called the acting president. The late president has been ill for some time.”
Mr Jonathan will remain in charge until presidential elections next year, probably in April.
"One of the true tests will be that all votes count and are counted in our upcoming presidential election," he said.
An unwritten power-sharing agreement within Nigeria's ruling party calls for the presidency to alternate between Nigeria's Christians and Muslims. Mr Yar'Adua, a Muslim, was in his first four-year term.
Commentators say he made progress in tackling unrest in the oil-rich Niger Delta since he came to power in 2007. His election was the first transfer of power from one civilian president to another since Nigeria's independence in 1960.
Nigeria swears in new president Goodluck Jonathan | News
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