Contrary to reports on the Nigerian media space, former Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has not been appointed Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Reports surfaced on Thursday that the 66-year-old economist has clinched the coveted top job at the WTO.
And although she has been announced as one of two finalists alongside South Korean trade minister Yoo Myung-hee from an initial list of eight, however, the successful candidate will be made known next month.
Ms Okonjo-Iweala and Ms Yoo both have political and international experience and both were students at American universities.
Ms Okonjo-Iweala, who also has US nationality, has had two spells as finance minister and a short stint as foreign minister in Nigeria.
Much of her career was spent as an economist at the World Bank.
She eventually rose to the position of managing director, essentially second in command at the institution. She has been an unsuccessful candidate for the top job at the bank.
She is currently chair of the board of the international vaccines alliance, Gavi.
She has not spent her career immersed in the details of trade policy as some other candidates did. But her work as a development economist and finance minister means she has often had to deal with international trade.
She describes trade as “a mission and a passion”.
Ms Okonjo-Iweala would be the first African to be director-general of the WTO.
