The House of Representatives Minority Caucus has congratulated Nigeria’s former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on her final confirmation as the Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The caucus leader, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, in a statement on Monday, February 15, 2021, observed that the emergence of Okonjo-Iweala as DG of the world trade body, after many hurdles, “reinforced global confidence in her competence and proficiency to head the world body.
The opposition lawmakers noted that “the election of Dr. Okonjo-Iweala to head the WTO is well-deserving, given her huge experience, competence, commitment and track record of performance in global finance and economy as evinced in her successes as Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Managing Director of the World Bank and various other international development bodies.
The statement said in part: “We commend the global community for having confidence in Dr. Okonjo Iweala and particularly, the United States President, His Excellency, Joe Biden, for the unwavering support given to her by his administration, which is clearly in recognition of Dr. Okonjo-Iweala’s competence.
“In the same vein, our caucus commends the understanding and spirit of sportsmanship exhibited by the South Korean trade minister, Yoo Myung-hee in withdrawing from the race; another loud testament to Dr. Okonjo-Iweala’s suitability for the task ahead.”
They charged her to, “as usual, hit the ground running and bring to bear her skills, connections and wealth of experience in the onerous task of leading the WTO at this trying period in the history of global economy.”
The lawmakers, however, urged her to focus specially on Africa and the developing world, particularly at this time of economic recession, which has been worsened by the adverse effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.