A former British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has endorsed former Minister of Finance, Dr. (Mrs.) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to lead the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as its Director-General.
The government of Nigeria had on June 9, 2020, nominated Okonjo-Iweala for the post of WTO Director-General to succeed the current Director-General, Mr. Roberto Azevêdo, who had announced he would step down on August 31, 2020.
However, her candidature received a major boost when Brown said the two-time Nigeria’s former Finance Minister had a record of delivering results in “the toughest of jobs”.
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British newspaper, The Times, in its report quoted the former prime minister to have said that Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala would make an ‘outstanding success’ of running the Swiss-based regulator, which he said was facing an existential crisis while searching for its next director-general and grappling with the global economic disruption caused by COVID-19.
Brown emphasised that Okonjo-Iweala is respected “across the whole of the world.”
The former Nigerian Finance Minister, has been leading the board of Gavi, the global vaccine alliance.
Okonjo-Iweala said leading WTO, would afford her the opportunity to serve all the countries in the world and because she has the skills for the job.
She added, “I believe WTO is one of the most important multi-lateral bodies in the world despite the challenges it faces and the reforms that need to be done.
“I believe it is very relevant for the economic development, growth and sharing of prosperity in the world.
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“I want the job because I think I have the skills for it. I think the organisation needs some reforms to make it relevant for times we are in and I have a reputation as a strong reformer.
“I have actually written a book titled ‘Reforming the Reformable,’ where we undertook certain reforms with a team in Nigeria. I am also a person with strong negotiation skills.
“I have a career of over 30 years for constantly being involved in negotiating an important agreement between countries.”
