Nigeria has nominated former Finance Minister and one time Managing Director of the World Bank, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as candidate for the position of Director General World Trade Organisation (WTO).
The election of the Head of the global body is scheduled to take place in Geneva, Switzerland next year.
Okonjo-Iweala who had also served as Nigeria’s Foreign Minister replaces Ambassador Yonov Frederick Agah whose name had earlier been put forward by Nigeria for the top post.
News of Okonjo-Iweala’s nomination was broken in a letter to all Embassies and permanent Missions to African Union in Addis Ababa by the Nigerian Embassy in Ethiopia.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is a Nigerian-born economist and international development expert. She sits on the Boards of Standard Chartered Bank, Twitter, Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), and the African Risk Capacity (ARC).
Previously, Okonjo-Iweala spent a 25-year career at the World Bank as a development economist, scaling the ranks to the Number 2 position of Managing Director, Operations (2007-2011). She also served two terms as Finance Minister of Nigeria (2003-2006, 2011-2015) under the leadership of President Olusegun Obasanjo and President Goodluck Jonathan respectively.
The letter dated June 4, 2020 reads:
“Mission also wishes to inform that His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the nomination of Dr. Ngozi OKONJO-IWEALA to replace Ambassador AGAH, as Nigeria’s Candidate for the position of Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), for the term 2021-2025 at the elections scheduled to hold in Geneva, Switzerland in 2021.”
The note outlayed a summary of the wealth of experience of Dr. Okonjo Iweala as a two-time Finance Minister, World Bank development economist and later, Managing Director (Operations) of the same World Bank.
It cited some of her major roles during her time as Finance Minister and her achievements as World Bank Managing Director, which included the successful handling of the World Bank’s $81bn operational portfolio in Africa, South Asia, Europe and Central Asia; spearheading several World Bank initiatives, and serving as Chair of the World Bank’s successive drive to raise $49.4bn in grants and low interest credit for the poorest countries in the world.
“Nigeria is therefore pleased to request the support of esteemed AU Member-States, as well as Permanent Missions and Embassies in Addis Ababa, in favour of the candidacy of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala…”
Yonov Frederick Agah is the Ambassador/Permanent Representative to the WTO. Prior to his appointment, he served as Deputy Director (Multilateral) and Director (External Trade) during the period 1991-2005; and was responsible for the coordination of Nigeria’s participation in various trading arrangements under the auspices of the WTO, UNCTAD, WIPO, ECOWAS, AGOA, etc. He served as Chairman of the WTO General Council in 2011, and was responsible for the organisation of the MC8. He has also served as the Chairman of a good number of WTO bodies.
After seven years in office, World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Roberto Azevêdo has announced that he will step down on 31 August 2020, cutting his second term short by one year. The timing of Azevêdo’s departure from the Organization is intended to give his successor the time to work with WTO members to shape the strategic direction for the Twelfth Ministerial Conference (MC12) and beyond.
A copy of Iweala’s detailed resume/biography was also attached for ease of reference.
