The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has accepted the nomination of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as one of the candidates for the office of the director-general of the organisation.
“Nigeria, on 9 June 2020, nominated Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for the post of WTO Director-General to succeed the current Director-General, Mr Roberto Azevêdo, who has announced he will step down on 31 August 2020,” the organisation said on its website.
When President Muhammadu Buhari endorsed Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for the World Trade Organisation (WTO) top job, Egypt went on the offensive.
Egypt argued that the executive decision of the African Union (AU) which had set a deadline of November 30, 2019 for African countries to nominate candidates had been violated.
They claimed Iweala’s nomination was late and should not be recognised.
The current WTO Director-General, Mr. Roberto Azevêdo announced he will step down on August 31, 2020.
“According to the timetable announced by the Chair of the General Council, David Walker, the nomination period will close on 8 July 2020,” a statement on the WTO website said.
“Shortly after the nomination period has closed, candidates will be invited to meet with members at a special General Council meeting, present their views and take questions from the membership.”
Other nominees for the post, so far, include Mr. Jesús Seade Kuri of Mexico and Mr. Abdel-Hamid Mamdouh of Egypt.
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala is a world-renowned economist and international development.
She currently sits on the Boards of Standard Chartered Bank, Twitter, Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, and the African Risk Capacity.
WTO accepts Okonjo-Iweala as Nigeria’s nominee
by Kayode Oyero
The World Trade Organisation on Tuesday acknowledged Nigeria’s nomination of a former Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, for the position of director-general.
Announcing in a statement, WTO wrote, “Nigeria, on 9 June 2020, nominated Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for the post of WTO Director-General to succeed the current Director-General, Mr Roberto Azevêdo, who has announced he will step down on 31 August 2020.
“According to the timetable announced by the Chair of the General Council, David Walker, the nomination period will close on 8 July 2020.
“Shortly after the nomination period has closed, candidates will be invited to meet with members at a special General Council meeting, present their views and take questions from the membership.”
The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), recently approved Okonjo-Iweala’s nomination for the position.
The election is scheduled to hold in Geneva, Switzerland in 2021 for a four-year term that would run from 2021 to 2025.
Okonjo-Iweala currently chairs the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, a public-private global health partnership with the goal of increasing access to immunisation in poor countries.
She also sits on the board of Twitter and is a former managing director (operations) at the World Bank.
