WTO: Okonjo-Iweala brought more honour to Nigeria – Buhari declares

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, on Monday cited the President, Muhammadu Buhari. He congratulated Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on her election as the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation.

Shehu cited the President as saying that the development has brought happiness and more honour to the nation.

Furthermore, his statement was tagged “President Buhari congratulates Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on election as DG of WTO.”

The statement read, “On behalf of the Federal Government and all Nigerians, President Muhammadu Buhari warmly felicitates with former Minister of Finance and Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on her election as Director General of the World Trade Organisation, bringing joy and more honour to the country.

“As the Harvard-educated and renowned economist takes up another onerous task of service to the world and humanity, the President believes her track record of integrity, diligence and passion for development will continue to yield positive results and rewards to mankind.

“President Buhari affirms that Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, who over the years set major records of economic reforms in Nigeria as Minister of Finance, and later Minister of Foreign Affairs, will excel in her new position and validate the global mandate of repositioning and strengthening the multilateral institution for the greater good of all.

“The President joins family, friends and colleagues in wishing Dr Okonjo-Iweala well in her new endeavour.”

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was born 13 June, 1954. She holds an A.B. in Economics from Harvard University, and a Ph.D. in Regional Economics and Development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She is the author of numerous articles and several books.

She is a Nigerian-American 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).

On February 15, 2021, she was appointed as the Director-General of the World Trade Organization, her term commencing on 1 March 2021, making her the first woman and the first African to have the job.

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 under President Olusegun Obasanjo and President Goodluck Jonathan respectively.

She was the first woman to become Finance Minister of Nigeria, and first woman to serve in that office twice. In 2005, Euromoney named her global finance minister of the year.

Okonjo-Iweala is married to Dr. Ikemba Iweala, a retired neurosurgeon and emergency physician. They are blessed with four children.