Buhari congratulates Germany’s Merkel on election victory

President Muhammadu Buhari has joined other world leaders to congratulate the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, on her election victory.

Buhari felicitated with Merkel in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesinain, in Abuja on Monday.

He also congratulated Merkel’s party for offering quality leadership to the European nation since the past 2 years, describing the victory as another opportunity to sustain the legacy of good work.

The president recalled his interactions with Merkel over the years, especially at the G8 meeting in 2015 and during his visit to Germany in 2016.

Buhari said that he came out after each of the meetings with a strong impression of Merkel as a leader committed to building stronger ties across the world.

The Nigerian leader wished the German chancellor a successful tenure.

Merkel’s conservative Christian Union (UDU/CSU) bloc, scored 32.9 per cent of the votes cast at the election, held on Sept. 24, to clinch a record fourth tenure in office.

Political analysts say that Merkel’s party now has to build an uneasy coalition with its nearest rival, the Social Democrats and its candidate, Martin Schulz, coming a distant second with 20.8 per cent of the votes.

They argue, however, that Merkel’s victory is clouded by the hard-right AfD party, winning its first seats in the German parliament.