The House of Representatives has unanimously endorsed the candidature of Nigeria ‘s former Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, for the appointment of the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation for 2021 to 2025.
This was sequel to a unanimous adoption of a motion by the Minority Leader of the House, Ndudi Elumelu (PDP-Delta), at the plenary on Tuesday.
Moving the motion earlier, Mr Elumelu said the WTO came into being on April 15, 1994 following the treaty signed by 123 countries, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
He said the agreement came into force on 1 January 1995, with a mission to regulate international trade between participating countries in goods , services and intellectual property.
The lawmaker said it had been saddled with the responsibility of providing a framework for negotiating trade agreements and a dispute resolution process to enforce participants’ adherence to their agreements.
Mr Elumelu said that the Chairman of the WTO General Council has announced the commencement of the procedure to replace the outgoing Director-General Roberto Azevedo with the opening date for the appointment scheduled for 8 June 2020 and the closing date for 8 July 2020.
The minority leader said the Federal Republic of Nigeria has officially named a respected Nigerian, two term finance minister, one-time foreign minister and former World Bank managing director Dr Ngozi Okonjo-lweala.
The lawmaker said that if successful, Mrs Okonjo-Iweala would be the first African woman to hold the office.
“President Muhammadu Buhari, having put into consideration her outstanding academic and professional background as well as her long years of managerial experience at the top of multilateral institutions, her reputation as a fearless reformer and excellent negotiator graciously endorsed her as the nation’s candidate for the WTO job.
“With the COViD-19 pandemic at hand and many countries faced with difficult choices and critical moments, the WTO has a vital role to play in hunting for trade solutions and building trust amongst member states.
“Hence the need for a capable hand that can make the WTO fit to thrive tor the 21st century, there is no gainsay that Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-lweala has the requisite capacity and experience to handle the challenges of WTO at this
“It is the perfect time for Africa to assume leadership at the WTO and all concerned stakeholders must unanimously commit to achieving this,” he said.
Mr Elumelu said that Africa has two other candidates from Egypt and Kenya, apart from Mrs Okonjo-lweala, and that joining the race with three candidates would split the votes from Africa.
He said it is undermining the possibility of an African taking the role of the WTO and hence we must urgently reach out to the Egyptian and Kenyan Governments on the need to mobilize in the name of Mrs Okonjo-lweala behind a single candidate for the continent.
He remembered that Nigeria strongly endorsed other Africans’ nominees for multilateral leadership posts, including the nomination of Late Boutros Boutros Ghali, an Egyptian national, to become the United Nations Secretary-General.
Mr Elumelu said a good turn deserves another, adding that Africa must now unite in order to put the continent first, and ensure cooperation among countries.
The House commended Heads of States and Governments of the ECOWAS Authority for their clear support.
It encouraged Mr Buhari and the Pan-African parliament to start gathering other African leaders to accept her appointment as WTO Director General.
The House also proposed that the federal government communicate with the Egyptian and Kenyan governments to take down their candidates in the spirit of African unity and reciprocity.
