FG: Nigeria Safe for World Leaders to Attend Buhari’s Inauguration Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja The federal government yesterday allayed fears of world leaders, invited to witness the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari for a second term in office, of their safety.
It said despite security concerns over the spate of kidnappings and recent disclosure of an alleged plot to forcibly take over the government by the opposition, government had stepped up measures to guarantee the safety of world leaders and
other invited guests. Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, at a press conference organised by the Media and Publicity Committee of the Presidential Inauguration Committee, yesterday in Abuja, assured
guests and others that the country is safe for them to attend the event, slated for June 12, 2019. Asked about measures being taken to make the country safe since he had raised the alarm that the opposition was planning to sabotage the
government, he said he would not disclose such measures publicly. “Nigeria is safe for all world leaders to attend the inauguration… Even if we are taking measures, will I tell you here?” Mohammed said. Mohammed addressed
journalists in conjunction with other members of the committee, which included the Minister of Defence, Maj. Gen Mansur Dan Ali (rtd); Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu; Minister of Continued on page 6
NAICOM Raises Insurance Firms’ Operating Capital by 200%... Page 7 Tuesday 21 May, 2019 Vol 24. No 8807. Price: N250
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SEC Probes MTN Listing on Stock Exchange Shareholders rake in N6.1bn in one day as induced scarcity continues Obinna Chima and Goddy Egene The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating the process that led to the listing of MTN
Nigeria on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) last Thursday, THISDAY learnt yesterday. A source said the application of the telecom firm was initially turned down by the NSE Council before it was
later reconsidered, without the authorisation of SEC. The disclosure came on the heels of an earlier THISDAY report that investors on the NSE and stakeholders waiting to purchase the shares of MTN
Nigeria Communications Plc, through an initial public offering (IPO), might do so at a very high premium whenever the telco decides to float the IPO. This was because of the
free float accommodation and some other waivers MTN Nigeria was granted by the capital market regulators to pave the way for its listing last Thursday. The source spoke amid
allegations of unapproved waivers that the NSE granted MTN Nigeria to enable it to be listed on the stock exchange. The source said: “The Continued on page 7
Nigeria’s GDP Shrinks to 2.01 per cent in Q1 2019 Oil production rises to 1.96mbpd Rewane, others seek economic plan James Emejo in Abuja and Nume Ekeghe in Lagos Nigeria’s brittle economy slowed to 2.1 percent in the first quarter of 2019 (Q1, 2019), according to data released yesterday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The nation’s economy, measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate, fell from the 2.38 per cent growth rate of the fourth
quarter of 2018. The economy’s performance fell below the three per cent growth rate projected by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). However, when compared to the Q1 2018 performance, where real GDP growth rate stood at 1.89 per cent, the Q1 2019 growth represented an increase of 0.12 percentage points, the NBS said. Continued on page 6
EFCC: We are Investigating Okorocha... Page 7
ALL FOR WILDLIFE... L-R: Group General Counsel, Standard Chartered Bank, David Fein; Duke of Cambridge, Prince Williams; Executive Director and International Head of Financial Intelligence and Investigations at the global bank, Morgan Stanley, Ize Idemudia-Jones and others, at the joint taskforce meeting of United for Wildlife in London