Xi congratulates Nigeria's new president

President Xi Jinping on Saturday vowed to work with his Nigerian counterpart to advance the China-Nigeria strategic partnership to a new level as he congratulated the election of Bola Tinubu as the African country's president.

Xi called Nigeria a partner of strategic importance for China in Africa, saying the development of bilateral ties has maintained good momentum in recent years.

China and Nigeria have achieved fruitful results in practical collaboration in all fields, supported each other on issues that concern respective core interests and major concerns, and have closely worked with each other in global and regional affairs, Xi said.

He holds in high regard the development of the China-Nigeria relationship and is ready to work with Tinubu to advance their strategic partnership, he said.

Nigeria's electoral body declared Tinubu, 70, of the ruling All Progressives Congress party, winner of the presidential election on Wednesday.

Almost 25 million people voted in elections on Feb 25, some of the country's most hotly contested, and Tinubu won more than 8.79 million votes. His closest rival, the former vice-president Atiku Abubakar, candidate of the main opposition People's Democratic Party, received more than 6.98 million votes, followed by Peter Obi, of the Labor Party, who secured about 6.1 million votes, the Independent National Electoral Commission said in a statement.

Tinubu, a former Lagos State governor and senator, had been eyeing the presidency for years to build a strong political structure with a vast network of supporters nationwide.

After receiving a certificate confirming him as president-elect, Tinubu asked for support from all Nigerians, promising to unite a divided nation.

"For this to be a victory at all, it cannot simply be a victory for one man or even one party," he said.

The outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari hailed Tinubu's victory, saying the results demonstrated the strength of democracy in Africa's largest economy.

"Elected by the people, he (Tinubu) is the best person for the job," Buhari said in a statement. "I shall now work with him and his team to ensure an orderly handover of power."

Xinhua and agencies contributed to this story.