Economy
Buhari Family Owns Huge Shares in Etisalat, Keystone Bank—Atiku
By Dipo Olowookere
Presidential candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Atiku Abubakar, has accused the family of President Muhammadu Buhari of having a substantial share in Etisalat (now 9mobile) and Keystone Bank.
Mr Atiku made this accusation in a statement signed by his Special Assistant on Public Communication, Mr Phrank Shaibu, on Wednesday in Abuja.
According to the statement, the President allegedly obtained shares worth $2 billion in the two companies through proxies as well as N3 billion worth of shares in the new Pakistani Islamic Bank.
Below is the full statement:
Read Mr Shaibu’s full statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES below.
The Presidential Candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has called on the appropriate authorities to urgently institute a probe to unravel the hidden faces behind the new ownership structure of multi-billion naira telecoms giant, Etisalat Nigeria, as well as Keystone Bank.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday, the Special Assistant to Atiku on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said such a probe was necessary in view of reports that members of President Muhammadu Buhari’s family now own substantial share in Etisalat Nigeria which has an estimated $2 billion (about N727 billion at 360 per dollar) of its estimated $20 billion global net worth.
Atiku also expressed shock at reports from unimpeachable sources that the first family now plays big in the nation’s financial sector after acquiring mouth-watering shares in Keystone Bank with total assets of $1.916 billion (equivalent to N307.5 billion) as well as purchasing about N3 billion worth of shares in the new Pakistani Islamic Bank.
“I know that last week was turbulent for President Buhari and I apologise for adding to his woes, but as he is insistent on the myth that he is spotless and anti-corrupt, if this is found to be true, this scandal would break every rule of corporate and public governance, since this will be the first time members of the first family will be openly involved in a once-in-a-lifetime deal that would make them all richer beyond their wildest dreams,” the statement said.
The accusation is coming amidst reported allegations in the media that the All Progressives Congress (APC) led federal government plans to use billions of Naira from the Anchor Borrowers Programme allocated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for farmers, using imaginary donations from 12 million farmers as a façade.
But the presidential candidate of the PDP advised President Buhari to shun the use of state resources and machinery for the upcoming 2019 presidential poll.
Specifically, Atiku said no farmer contributed any N1.7 billion for Buhari’s re-election campaign, warning that APC’s decision to use monies meant for farmers to run his campaign is not tidy at all.
“The other day, a man who scored 15,424,921 votes to win the 2015 general election was reported to have been nominated by 14 million APC members at the Presidential primaries for 2019. Now, over 12 million farmers have donated to his campaign. Are they indirectly spewing out outrageous figures of people they intend to claim voted for them in the coming elections? Could that be why the President was flashing an occult double four hand signal that has gone viral?What did the hand signal mean? Does it mean that the President has jettisoned the idea of a free and fair election and telling Nigerians that no matter how they vote, he will return for a second term of four years? In any case , if the farmers who just took a loan through the borrowers anchor programme and have not liquidated the facility can donate this huge sum or any sum for that matter, it means the ‘Association of widows and children of all those slain by Boko Haram and herdsmen will donate N5billion to the Buhari campaign. In fact, the 23.1 million youth who lost their jobs between 2016 till date will donate about N12billion to the Buhari campaign.”
“Assuming but not even conceding that such a huge sum of money was donated to President Buhari by Nigerian farmers as his handlers would want Nigerians to believe, wouldn’t such donation be in contravention of Section 91 (9)of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) which says no individual or other entity shall donate more than N1m to an aspirant or a candidate,” Atiku said.
Section 91 (2) of the Electoral Act further states that a presidential candidate can spend a maximum of N1 billion.
The law also recommends a fine of N1m or a prison term of 12months or both for any candidate that breaches the provisions of the Act.
“We have no stand on whether or not President Buhari should run for office. That is his prerogative and that of his party. But we believe it is improper for public office holders to forcefully loot public funds, on behalf of a sitting president seeking a second term in office.
“What this means is that there is a ‘war chest’ which apparently is from the national coffers,” Atiku said.
He said if President Buhari wants to run for office next year, he should take only from monies sourced from donations by his campaign groups that are independent of government. “Anything short of that – as is currently the case with the use of funds from the CBN meant for farmers will mean there will be no level playing field for all the candidates billed to contest for the presidency during next year’s presidential elections,” Atiku said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The duo of FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc and Geo-Fluids Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.12 per cent on Monday, March 16.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc lost N1.45 during the session to sell at N123.55 per share versus the previous price of N125.00 per share, and Geo Fluids Plc depreciated by 5 Kobo to N3.05 per unit from N3.10 per unit.
The losses recorded by the two securities lowered the market capitalisation by N8.88 billion to N2.480 trillion from N2.489 trillion, and crashed the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 14.86 points to 4,145.60 points from 4,160.46 points.
On the first trading day of the week, the value of securities transacted by investors went up by 10.8 per cent to N33.2 million from N29.9 million, but the volume of securities dipped 97.5 per cent to 265,610 units from 10.4 million units, and the number of deals decreased by 43.5 per cent to 26 deals from 46 deals.
At the close of trades, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc was the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 38.6 million units sold for N2.4 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 6.4 million units traded for N1.2 billion, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 6.5 million units worth N609.6 million.
Resourcery Plc closed the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.6 million, trailed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 130.8 million units transacted for N504.5 million, and CSCS Plc with 38.6 million units exchanged for N2.4 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira opened the week stronger against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday, March 16, by N8.46 or 0.62 per cent to trade at N1,357.77/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366.23/$1.
In the same vein, the local currency appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment yesterday by N23.45 to quote at N1,789.54/£1 compared with last Friday’s value of N1,812.99/£1, and improved its value against the Euro by N9.72 to N1,558.31/€1 from N1,568.03/€1.
Similarly, the Naira gained N5 against the greenback in the parallel market during the trading session to sell for N1,395/$1 compared with the previous rate of N1,400/$1, and closed flat at the GTBank FX desk at N1,385/$1.
The pressure that piled on the domestic currency appeared to have eased, buoyed by higher oil prices, which have continued to bolster market sentiment.
A report by Coronation Merchant Bank Research said Brent crude prices advanced by 11.16 per cent week-on-week, rising from $91.00 per barrel to close at $101.16 per barrel amid escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
The bank noted that developments in the region heightened concerns about potential disruptions to global oil supply, increasing volatility in energy markets.
Nigeria recorded modest portfolio inflows as investors sought higher-yielding opportunities, but the inflows helped support liquidity in the FX market and contributed to the Naira’s recovery during the past week.
Also, Nigeria’s inflation cooled to 15.06 per cent in February 2026 from 15.10 per cent in January 2026, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.
As for the cryptocurrency market, prices continued to weigh the tensions around the Strait of Hormuz — a critical oil shipping route between the Persian Gulf and global markets — appeared to ease slightly.
US President Donald Trump called on other nations to help secure the waterway, while some tankers reportedly have crossed the Strait, suggesting that traffic through the corridor has not been fully disrupted.
This weakened some coins, including Dogecoin (DOGE), which slumped by 1.7 per cent to $0.0998, and Cardano (ADA), which depreciated 1.6 per cent to $0.2832. Binance Coin (BNB) lost 1.5 per cent to sell for $674.25, TRON (TRX) declined by 0.6 per cent to $0.2964, and Solana (SOL) dropped 0.2 per cent to $93.66.
On the flip side, Ripple (XRP) jumped 2.2 per cent to $1.51, Ethereum (ETH) grew by 1.5 per cent to $2,302.08, and Bitcoin (BTC) appreciated by 0.1 per cent to $73,951.40, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
The All-Share Index (ASI) of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited reached an all-time high of 201,474.89 points on Monday after adding 3,067.59 points or 1.55 per cent to its previous closing figures of 198,407.30 points.
Buying pressure in three of the five key sectors sustained the upward trend on Customs Street during the trading session, analysis of the market data revealed.
The industrial goods sector appreciated by 4.52 per cent, the banking index improved by 2.20 per cent, and the consumer goods space rose by 0.03 per cent.
However, the insurance sector experienced profit-taking, which crashed it by 0.43 per cent, and the energy counter lost 0.08 per cent due to sell-offs.
When the bourse ended for the day, the market capitalisation chalked up N1.969 trillion to settle at N129.330 trillion compared with last Friday’s M127.361 trillion.
BUA Cement led the advancers’ group yesterday after growing by 10.00 per cent to N297.00, Premier Paints jumped 9.79 per cent to N21.30, John Holt expanded by 9.52 per cent to N10.35, Guinea Insurance soared by 9.38 per cent to N1.40, and Fortis Global Insurance grew by 9.32 per cent to N1.29.
On the flip side, VFD Group led the laggards’ gang after it gave up 10.00 per cent to close at N11.25, Royal Exchange shed 9.63 per cent to settle at N1.69, Omatek depreciated by 9.62 per cent to N2.35, Sovereign Trust Insurance lost 9.00 per cent to quote at N1.92, and Regency Alliance slipped by 8.94 per cent to N1.12.
Yesterday, a total of 948.2 million stocks valued at N49.2 billion were traded in 72,735 deals compared with 591.0 million stocks worth N35.0 billion transacted in 53,066 deals in the preceding session, representing an improvement in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 60.44 per cent, 40.57 per cent, and 37.07 per cent apiece.
The activity log was led by Sovereign Trust Insurance, which traded 72.6 million equities valued at N147.1 million, Access Holdings sold 69.9 million shares for N1.8 billion, First Holdco exchanged 67.0 million stocks worth N3.4 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 60.0 million equities valued at N6.0 billion, and Nigerian Breweries exchanged 55.0 million shares worth N4.0 billion.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism10 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking8 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy3 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn