Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday, as his last assignment in Abuja's corridors of power, addressed the nation and defended his record on the economy.

President Buhari said that he was leaving a legacy of credible and fair voting and that the country was in better shape since 2015.

Buhari first came to office in 2015 after promising an elevated economy and an end to corruption and insecurity.

Meanwhile, incoming President Bola Tinubu's victory is being challenged by his two closest opposition rivals.

On Tuesday, a court will begin to hear the main arguments in the election petition.

Buhari, an 80-year-old retired general, said the February vote had helped entrench democracy in Africa's most populous nation and that Tinubu, who ran on his ruling party's ticket, was the best candidate to emerge from the election.

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/explained-the-political-life-of-president-muhammadu-buhari-who-bid-farewell-to-nigeria-597476">Explained: The political life of outgoing Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari</a>

"I am leaving behind an electoral process which guarantees that votes count, results are credible, elections are fair and transparent and the influence of money in politics reduced to the barest minimum," Buhari said in his farewell speech.

"To my brother, friend and fellow worker in the political terrain for the past ten years – Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu -, I congratulate you on the realisation of your dream, which was propelled by a burning passion to put Nigeria amongst the leading nations of the world," Buhari said.

Tinubu is inheriting double-digit inflation, which has eroded savings and wages. It is one of the biggest issues that will confront him when he is sworn into office.

ALSO WATCH |&nbsp;Bola Tinubu wins Presidential elections of Nigeria

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President Buhari, however, said that his government had made some difficult choices to reset the economy, some of which "led to temporary pain and suffering for which I sincerely apologise&nbsp;to my fellow countrymen, but the measures were taken for the overall good of the country."

Buhari also defended accusations that extremism had grown under his watch in Nigeria.

“Our battle to ensure that all Nigerians live in a safe and secure environment has achieved considerable results. As I complete my term in office, we have been able to reduce the incidences of banditry, terrorism, armed robbery and other criminal activities considerably,” he said.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

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Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday, as his last assignment in Abuja's corridors of power, addressed the nation and defended his record on the economy.

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday, as his last assignment in Abuja's corridors of power, addressed the nation and defended his record on the economy. President Buhari said that he was leaving a legacy of credible and fair voting and that the country was in better shape since 2015. Buhari first came to office in 2015 after promising an elevated economy and an end to corruption and insecurity. Meanwhile, incoming President Bola Tinubu's victory is being challenged by his two closest opposition rivals. On Tuesday, a court will begin to hear the main arguments in the election petition. Buhari, an 80-year-old retired general, said the February vote had helped entrench democracy in Africa's most populous nation and that Tinubu, who ran on his ruling party's ticket, was the best candidate to emerge from the election. ALSO READ | Explained: The political life of outgoing Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari "I am leaving behind an electoral process which guarantees that votes count, results are credible, elections are fair and transparent and the influence of money in politics reduced to the barest minimum," Buhari said in his farewell speech. "To my brother, friend and fellow worker in the political terrain for the past ten years – Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu -, I congratulate you on the realisation of your dream, which was propelled by a burning passion to put Nigeria amongst the leading nations of the world," Buhari said. Tinubu is inheriting double-digit inflation, which has eroded savings and wages. It is one of the biggest issues that will confront him when he is sworn into office. ALSO WATCH | Bola Tinubu wins Presidential elections of Nigeria × President Buhari, however, said that his government had made some difficult choices to reset the economy, some of which "led to temporary pain and suffering for which I sincerely apologise to my fellow countrymen, but the measures were taken for the overall good of the country." Buhari also defended accusations that extremism had grown under his watch in Nigeria. “Our battle to ensure that all Nigerians live in a safe and secure environment has achieved considerable results. As I complete my term in office, we have been able to reduce the incidences of banditry, terrorism, armed robbery and other criminal activities considerably,” he said. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

'Nigerians have chosen well': President Muhammudu Buhari hails successor Tinubu

Bola Tinubu, Nigeria's ruling party candidate was ahead in the vote count after presidential poll on Saturday, a tally by Reuters of provisional results in 20 of 36 states showed on Monday, but opposition parties walked out of the counting process citing concerns of fraud.&nbsp;

The tally of provisional electoral commission results showed Tinubu, of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party, was ahead with 39.7% or 5.4 million of valid votes counted, against 32.2% or 4.4 million votes for Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP).&nbsp;

Outsider Peter Obi of the smaller Labour Party was in third place on about 16.3% with about 2.2 million.&nbsp;

The election has been fraught with logistical and technological difficulties that resulted in the failure, in many places, to upload results directly from each polling unit to its website, as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had promised to do to guarantee transparency.&nbsp;

"INEC's lack of efficient planning in critical stages and effective public communication reduced trust in the process," the European Union observer mission said in a statement.&nbsp;

Commonwealth observer mission chief Thabo Mbeki also criticised INEC for its failure to upload the results.&nbsp;

By 1700 GMT on Monday, INEC had uploaded results from just 66,167 polling units out of a total of 178,846, its website showed.&nbsp;

"We take full responsibility for the problems and regret the distress that they have caused the candidates, political parties and the electorate," the commission said in a statement.&nbsp;

ALSO READ|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/nigeria-awaits-results-after-tight-election-566169">Nigeria awaits results after tight election</a>

However the opposition parties were unsatisfied and claimed that the electoral process was rigged. &nbsp;

"The electoral process has been rigged ... and we are completely disassociating ourselves from it," PDP Atiku's campaign manage Melaye Dino said at the INEC results centre in Abuja. Obi's Labour party was equally scathing.&nbsp;

"We regret to say that we have lost confidence in the results being collated and announced," Akin Oshintokun, director of Obi's campaign, told reporters. "We hereby call on the INEC to ... follow its own guidelines or completely cancel the entire election."&nbsp;

The election process also faced technology woes. The election was highly dependent on communications technology that may have seemed doomed to fail in a country with such poor internet coverage, and the failures open the way for legal challenges against the results.&nbsp;

&nbsp;Obi defeated his ruling party challenger to win Nigeria's commercial hub of Lagos in a major upset in the poll which was marred by delays and complaints of irregularities.&nbsp;

&nbsp;Around two-thirds of states in Africa's most populous country have yet to declare.&nbsp;

But the win in Lagos state - with 582,454 votes against 572,606 for Tinubu - was a major boost for Obi, whose run challenged candidates from two long-established movements that have alternated in power since the end of army rule in 1999. &nbsp;

Obi's campaign grabbed headlines with its use of social media and its focus on young people and urban voters fed up with widespread corruption and insecurity.&nbsp;

To become president, a candidate needs to get more votes than any other candidate and also garner a quarter of the votes in at least 24 states.&nbsp;

There have been reports of violence and intimidation, though not at the scale of previous elections.&nbsp;

In northern Kano state, police said a group had attacked a campaign office for a smaller opposition party and set the building on fire, killing two people.&nbsp;

Police said they had killed one of the attackers and arrested four suspects.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Bola Tinubu, Nigeria's ruling party candidate was ahead in the vote count after presidential poll on Saturday, a tally by Reuters of provisional results in 20 of 36 states showed on Monday, but opposition parties walked out of the counting process citing concerns of fraud.

Bola Tinubu, Nigeria's ruling party candidate was ahead in the vote count after presidential poll on Saturday, a tally by Reuters of provisional results in 20 of 36 states showed on Monday, but opposition parties walked out of the counting process citing concerns of fraud. The tally of provisional electoral commission results showed Tinubu, of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party, was ahead with 39.7% or 5.4 million of valid votes counted, against 32.2% or 4.4 million votes for Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP). Outsider Peter Obi of the smaller Labour Party was in third place on about 16.3% with about 2.2 million. The election has been fraught with logistical and technological difficulties that resulted in the failure, in many places, to upload results directly from each polling unit to its website, as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had promised to do to guarantee transparency. "INEC's lack of efficient planning in critical stages and effective public communication reduced trust in the process," the European Union observer mission said in a statement. Commonwealth observer mission chief Thabo Mbeki also criticised INEC for its failure to upload the results. By 1700 GMT on Monday, INEC had uploaded results from just 66,167 polling units out of a total of 178,846, its website showed. "We take full responsibility for the problems and regret the distress that they have caused the candidates, political parties and the electorate," the commission said in a statement. ALSO READ| Nigeria awaits results after tight election However the opposition parties were unsatisfied and claimed that the electoral process was rigged. "The electoral process has been rigged ... and we are completely disassociating ourselves from it," PDP Atiku's campaign manage Melaye Dino said at the INEC results centre in Abuja. Obi's Labour party was equally scathing. "We regret to say that we have lost confidence in the results being collated and announced," Akin Oshintokun, director of Obi's campaign, told reporters. "We hereby call on the INEC to ... follow its own guidelines or completely cancel the entire election." The election process also faced technology woes. The election was highly dependent on communications technology that may have seemed doomed to fail in a country with such poor internet coverage, and the failures open the way for legal challenges against the results. Obi defeated his ruling party challenger to win Nigeria's commercial hub of Lagos in a major upset in the poll which was marred by delays and complaints of irregularities. Around two-thirds of states in Africa's most populous country have yet to declare. But the win in Lagos state - with 582,454 votes against 572,606 for Tinubu - was a major boost for Obi, whose run challenged candidates from two long-established movements that have alternated in power since the end of army rule in 1999. Obi's campaign grabbed headlines with its use of social media and its focus on young people and urban voters fed up with widespread corruption and insecurity. To become president, a candidate needs to get more votes than any other candidate and also garner a quarter of the votes in at least 24 states. There have been reports of violence and intimidation, though not at the scale of previous elections. In northern Kano state, police said a group had attacked a campaign office for a smaller opposition party and set the building on fire, killing two people. Police said they had killed one of the attackers and arrested four suspects. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE

Nigerian opposition parties protest election results

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'Nigerians have chosen well': President Muhammudu Buhari hails successor Tinubu

Nigerian opposition parties protest election results