The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has endorsed Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria’s former minister of finance, for the position of director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) for the period 2021-2025.
Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs made this known on Monday in a statement issued by its spokesman, Ferdinand Nwonye, stressing that the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, which endorsed Okonjo-Iweala, has also called on other African countries as well as non-African countries to endorse her candidature.
The apex body noted that since the creation of the WTO on 1 January 1995 as 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 organisation.
The ECOWAS leaders said Okonjo-Iweala’s “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” qualify her for the position.
The West African leaders also lauded 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 of Gavi, and AU Special Envoy to Mobilise Financial Resources for the fight against Covid19.
President Muhammadu Buhari had earlier nominated Okonjo-Iweala as the nation’s candidate for the position of the director-general of the renowned organisatrion.
Brazilian Director-General Roberto Azevedo in May said he plans to step down from the 25-year-old WTO at the end of August, a year before his term ends, saying it’s the best way to avoid more chaos at the alliance, which has already been hobbled by attacks from President Donald Trump and the start of a global recession.
