The Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has endorsed Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for
the position of director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
This is contained in
a document signed by Mahamadou Issoufou, ECOWAS president.
On June 4, President
Muhammadu Buhari approved the nomination of Okonjo-Iweala, former coordinating
minister for the economy, for the top WTO job.
ECOWAS called on
other African countries to back Okonjo-Iweala, who Issoufou referred to as a
“fearless reformer”.
The nomination has
been commended by top officials including Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former
Liberian president.
Issoufou said ECOWAS
heads of state and government acknowledged the nomination of Okonjo-Iweala as
Nigeria’s candidate.
He said the ECOWAS
leadership considered among others, Okonjo-Iweala’s “established reputation as
a fearless reformer, her excellent negotiating and political skills, her
experience of over 30 years”.
The regional
organisation declared its support for the Nigerian candidate, thereby urging
other African and non-African countries to do the same.
“The ECOWAS
Authority of Heads of State and Government, takes note of the communication by
the Chairman of the General Council of the World Trade Organization (WTO)
announcing the commencement of a process for the appointment of a new
Director-General of VVTO, with the opening and closing dates of nominations set
as 8 June and 8 July 2020 respectively,” the statement read.
“Takes into account
that since the creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on 1 January
1995. which is a successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
established on 1 January 1948, no African has assumed the position of
Director-General of the Organization,
“Further notes that
the Federal Republic of Nigeria has formally nominated Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-lweala
for the position of Director-General of WTO for the period 2021 — 2025:
“Having acknowledged
the strong academic and professional background of Dr. Okonjo-lweala and her very
large experience in national affairs as Nigeria’s Finance Minister (2003-2006
and 2011-2015) and Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister briefly in 2006;
“Having further
acknowledged her long years of managerial experience at the top echelons of
multilateral institutions, her established reputation as a fearless reformer,
her excellent negotiating and political skills, her experience of over 30 years
as a Development Economist with a long standing interest in trade, her
excellent academic qualifications, her positions as Managing Director World
Bank, and currently as Board Chair Gavi, and African Union Special Envoy to
Mobilize Financial Resources for the fight against Covid19,
“Endorses the
candidature of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-lweala for the position of Director-General of
the World Trade Organization for the period 2021-2025; and
“Calls on other
African countries as well as non-African countries to endorse her candidature.”
The Republic of
Benin had earlier withdrawn its candidate from the race and pledged support for
Okonjo-Iweala.
The nomination of
Okonjo-Iweala had triggered slight controversy.
The office of the
legal counsel of the African Union (AU) had said that the candidature of
Okonjo-Iweala for the position violates the rules of the AU.
However, the
Nigerian embassy and permanent mission to the African Union (AU) responded
saying claims that Okonjo-Iweala’s nomination contravenes laid-down rules are
unguarded and failed all parameters of objectivity and unbiased submission.
Meanwhile, the WTO
had confirmed that Okonjo-Iweala is still eligible to run for the office of
director-general.
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