The Nigerian presidency has apologised for committing a major blunder when it claimed that President Bola Tinubu was the first African leader to ring the bell at the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ).
SaharaReporters earlier reported that the NASDAQ is the world’s second-largest stock exchange in New York.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale had in a statement said Tinubu became the first African leader to ring the closing bell at NASDAQ on September 20, 2023.
The event was held in Times Square, New York, in honour of the U.S. Chamber’s bell-ringing ceremony.
According to Ngelale, the president was invited to the event in honour of his determined global push to aggressively attract foreign direct investment into Nigeria.
“In honour of President Bola Tinubu’s determined global push to aggressively attract foreign direct investment into Nigeria, the world’s second largest stock exchange, the National Association of Securities Dealers Automatic Quotation System (NASDAQ), on Wednesday in the world’s financial capital, invited President Tinubu to ring the closing bell, making him the first African President to ever receive the honour,” he had said.
SaharaReporters had reported that however, contrary to Ngelale’s claim, Jakaya Kiwete, former president of Tanzania, rang the NASDAQ closing bell in 2011.
In a statement on Friday, the presidency said the error was “deeply regretted”.
“We inadvertently referred to President Bola Tinubu as the first African leader to ring the bell at NASDAQ on Wednesday in New York, based on the information provided by a third-party event organiser.”
“We have since found out that this information was/is incorrect as a former African leader has indeed had the privilege. This error is sincerely regretted,” the statement said.