Gen Nguema was earlier carried triumphally through the
streets of the capital Libreville by his troops.
The deposed President, Ali Bongo, has appeared in a video
at his home, calling on his "friends all over the world" to
"make noise" on his behalf.
Army officers appeared on TV in the early hours of
Wednesday to say they had taken power.
They said they had annulled the results of Saturday's
election in which Mr Bongo was declared the winner but which the opposition
said was fraudulent.
The officers also said they had arrested one of Mr Bongo's
sons for treason.
Within hours, generals met to discuss who would lead the
transition and agreed by a unanimous vote to appoint Gen Nguema, former head of
the presidential guard.
Crowds in Libreville and elsewhere celebrated the army's
declaration.
But the coup was condemned by the UN, the African Union and
France, which had close ties to the Bongo family.
The US state department urged Gabon's military to
"preserve civilian rule" and urged "those responsible to release
and ensure the safety of members of government". The UK condemned the
"unconstitutional military takeover" of power.
There has long been simmering resentment of the Bongo
family - it ruled Gabon for 55 years - and there has been public discontent
over broader issues such as the cost of living.
"At first I was scared, but then I felt joy," a
resident of Libreville, who requested anonymity, told the BBC. "I was
scared because of the realisation that I am living through a coup, but the joy
is because we've been waiting for so long for this regime to be overthrown."
Gen Nguema, 48, was absent from the first three statements
read out by senior army officers on national television to announce the coup.
But he was named transitional leader soon after, and was
carried through the streets in jubilant scenes.
He was aide-de-camp to the ousted leader's father, Omar
Bongo, who ruled for almost 42 years until his death in 2009.
A former close colleague told AFP news agency that Gen
Nguema had been extremely close to Omar Bongo, serving him from 2005 until his
death in a Spanish hospital.
Under Ali Bongo he first worked as a military attache at
Gabon's embassies in Morocco and Senegal.
But in 2018 he was made intelligence chief under the elite
republican guard - Gabon's most powerful army unit - replacing Ali Bongo's half-brother
Frederic Bongo, before getting promoted to general. BBC
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