Garba Shehu said the release was "the outcome of negotiations between the administration and Islamist militants".
The handing over of four imprisoned militants was also part of the deal.
Boko Haram seized more than 270 students from a school in Chibok, north-east Nigeria - an act that provoked international condemnation.
It sparked one of the biggest global social media campaigns, with tweeters using the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls.
A security official has told the BBC that the girls were released in exchange for prisoners.
According to the source, several top-level Boko Haram detainees were taken to a meeting point close to the Cameroon border.
Under the supervision of the ICRC, the girls were then released and the militants were handed over.
The students were then transported to the city of Maiduguri and placed under the supervision of the security forces.
According to the security official, most of the young women have babies.
Just last month the Nigerian government announced that several round of talks with Boko Haram had broken down, but with today's release they have shown that those kidnapped can be released through intermediaries.
"I can only weep, right now. You know that kind of cry that is a mix of multiple emotions," Obiageli Ezekwesili, one of the leaders of the #BringBackOurGirls movement, has tweeted in response to the news.
The president also tweeted that he welcomed the release "following successful negotiations".
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