After months of jostling, Nigeria, again, made history with one of her leading lights in economics getting appointed as the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Former Finance Minister, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, will from 1st March, 2021 will sit as the first African and female DG of WTO following her confirmation on Monday.
WTO members took the decision to appoint Okonjo-Iweala at a special meeting of the General Council.
President of the European Council (EC), Charles Michel, in a tweet said, said, “My warmest wishes to Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala @NOIweala on your appointment as Director General of @wto. You bring a wealth of experience and expertise at a time when the WTO needs reform. Count on full support of the EU.”
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is taking credit for her emergence, expressing gladness over her confirmation.
The party described her emergence as victory for competence, global due process and consensus needed to pilot the activities of the world trade body, especially at this critical period in the history of the world’s economy.
The PDP noted that the development has again brought honour to our nation adding that it is proud of Okonjo-Iweala as a product of the PDP administration, whose excellence as Nigeria’s minister of finance, under whom Nigeria achieved our debt relief and revamped to become one of the fastest growing economies of the world.
The party also recalled Dr. Okonjo-Iweala’s success as the Managing Director of the World Bank, where she also displayed her capacity to effectively handle global economy’s issues.
The PDP commended international stakeholders, including President Joe Biden-led United States Government for the strong support given to Okonjo-Iweala, which points to the commitment of all stakeholders towards global consensus and economic recovery.
The PDP restates its charge to the new WTO Director General to redouble her effort in bringing to bear her wealth of experience and competence to the world body.
