Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala reacts to Atiku’s WTO recommendation

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former Nigerian Minister of Finance, has reacted to her recommendation for the post of Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) by Atiku Abubakar, ex-Vice-President.

Okonjo-Iweala thanked Atiku, a former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for his recommendation.

The former minister is currently jostling for the position of a Director-General of the WTO and her pursuit was acknowledged by President Muhammadu Buhari.

In July, WTO had also acknowledged Okonjo-Iweala as Nigeria’s nominee for the post. Other nominees for the post include: Mr. Jesús Seade Kuri of Mexico, Mr. Abdel-Hamid Mamdouh of Egypt, Mr Tudor Ulianovschi of Moldova, Ms Amina C. Mohamed of Kenya, Mr Mohammad Maziad Al-Tuwaijiri of Saudi Arabia and Dr Liam Fox of the United Kingdom.

However, Atiku on Saturday said Okonjo-Iweala possessed the requisite skills to fill such capacity.

In a tweet on Saturday, Atiku noted that her “experience and the enormous related works she has done confirms without equivocation that her leadership shall be a blessing to the WTO and the world”.

The former Minister of Finance was nominated by President Muhammadu Buhari after the current WTO Director-General, Roberto Azevêdo, announced he will step down on August 31, 2020.

Reacting, the former minister in a tweet wrote: “Thank you, Your Excellency.”

The current WTO Director-General, Roberto Azevêdo, has announced he will step down on August 31, 2020.