The presidency has issued an apology and retracted a statement that falsely claimed President Bola Tinubu as the "first African leader to ring the bell" at the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ). The erroneous statement was initially released by Ajuri Ngelale, the special adviser to the president on media and publicity, shortly after the event took place.
Contrary to Ngelale's assertion, it was revealed that Jakaya Kiwete, the former president of Tanzania, had previously rung the NASDAQ closing bell in 2011. In response to the inaccurate information, the presidency expressed deep regret for the error and clarified that the claim was based on information provided by a third-party event organizer.
The presidency's statement acknowledged the mistake and offered an apology, stating, "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 retraction and apology aim to rectify the misrepresentation of facts surrounding President Tinubu's participation in the NASDAQ event
