It appears that Nigerians are now turning tables around on a global scale with their outstanding works. They have made Africa proud and earned respect for their names.

The likes of Akinwumi Adesina; President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Ex-Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Muhammad Sanusi II; African richest man, Aliko Dangote, have all in separate years bagged the same award.

Expressing her excitement after being awarded, Okonjo-Iweala commended the management of the magazine for the honour and recognition.

“Thrilled to be named Forbes Africa-CNBC ‘2020 African of the Year’ following in the footsteps of my great brothers Paul Kagame and Akin Adesina. I am excited by the prestigious award,” she stated in a statement.

While describing how Africans have motivated her, she stressed that “it is a great honour to serve Africa in different capacities. I look forward to deploying my energies at the WTO for Africa and the world This award is for fellow Africans suffering the health and economic impact of #Covid19. The energy and resilience of Africans inspire me.”

Okonjo-Iweala is jostling for the position of the Director-General (DG) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) with South Korea’s first female trade minister, Yoo Myung- hee.

With Myung-Lee being withdrawn in the final lap of the race, Okonjo-Iweala is poised to be the one to lead the trade organisation in the coming years.

Okonjo-Iweala has received numerous recognitions and awards, which include the followings:

• One of the 50 Greatest World Leaders (Fortune, 2015)
• Top 100 Most Influential People in the World (TIME, 2014)
• Top 100 Global Thinkers (Foreign Policy, 2011 and 2012)
• Top 100 Most Powerful Women in the World (Forbes, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014)
• Top 3 Most Powerful Women in Africa (Forbes, 2012)
• Top 10 Most Influential Women in Africa (Forbes, 2011)
• Top 100 Women in the World (The Guardian, 2011)
• Top 150 Women in the World (Newsweek, 2011)
• Top 100 most inspiring people in the World Delivering for Girls and Women (Women Deliver, 2011)
• Women’s Economic Empowerment Award from WEConnect International (2017)

The post Forbes Honours Okonjo-Iweala appeared first on Business News in Nigeria.

To this effect, South Korea will announce its decision to withdraw Myung-hee in the coming days to enable the WTO’s General Council to appoint Okonjo-Iweala.

In the same vein, South korea had also relayed its decision to the United states which had been defending Myung-hee

Recall that Okonjo-Iweala was jostling the position with South Korea’s first female trade minister, Yoo Myung- hee, but the nomination was moved forward after the U.S voiced opposition to her appointment.

The US complained that the WTO’s election rules were flawed because they did not allow governments to register a negative view of a particular candidate.

Surprisingly, the American objection prompted an uproar from the delegates of more than two dozen governments and international organizations seated in the room, with European allies, China, Canada, Latin American and African states all rallying against the US.

In the same vein, dozens of governments swiftly spoke out against the U.S saying Washington was trying to obstruct and weaken the global-trade regulator.

While addressing the house, the WTO spokesman, Keith Rockwell then announced that the organization would go ahead with a meeting November 9 to pick a new leader. If necessary, as a last resort, a vote would be held to pick a leader although it would break the precedent of selecting the WTO chief by consensus.

The General Council meeting scheduled for November 9, was later postponed following the restrictions on meetings by Geneva Canton in the face of the sudden rise in COVID-19 confirmed cases.

A new date has been scheduled to take place on December 17 although it is not clear if the meeting would take place.

Automatically, Nigeria’s Okonjo-Iweala is set to steer the WTO’s wheel on the serious trade challenges of a global health crisis.

The post Okonjo-Iweala’s Candidacy For WTO Job Receives Boost As Main Contender Exits Race appeared first on Business News in Nigeria.

The WTO’s effort to select a new leader by consensus hit a brick wall on Wednesday after the United States vetoed the move towards consensus.

Unmasking learnt that the WTO’s ambassadors have backed Okonjo-Iweala for the position.

According to WTO spokesman, Keith Rockwell, Deputy US Trade Representative, Dennis Shea, maintained that Washington won’t join a consensus to appoint Okonjo-Iweala because the US supported her opponent, South Korean trade minister, Yoo Myung-hee,

In the same vein, US Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer, had pushed for Yoo even though Okonjo-Iweala gained American citizenship in 2019.

He claimed that Okonjo-Iweala, who was a longtime top official at the World Bank, has been too close to pro-trade internationalists like Robert Zoellick, a former USTR from the Bush administration, who worked with her when he was president of the Washington-based bank.

It’s pertinent to know that WTO’s major decisions are made by a consensus of its 164 members. This indicates that a single country, especially the world’s largest economy, can create a stalemate to pressure others.

Meanwhile in her home country, continues to enjoy support from many Nigerians of who had congratulated her ahead of the final selection.

Professor of Capital market, Nassarawa State University, Prof Uche Uwaleke stated that her emergence as WTO DG would be a positive impact on the Nigeria Economy.

“Nigeria would be in a strong position to champion the cause of Arica Union African Continental free trade area project.”

Similarly, in a statement signed by the president of Trade Union Congress, Quadri Olaleye, and secretary General, Musa- Lawal Ozigi, the duo appreciated the Federal Government, Nigerians and all the countries that have support Okonjo Iweala so far.

If the former managing director of the World Bank finally clinches the position, she would be the first woman and the first African to lead the WTO and will generally boost Nigeria front runner status.

The Geneva-based institution would keep working to reach a consensus ahead of the meeting of the General Council tentatively set for November 9.

Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, born on 13^th of June, 1954 is a Nigeria-born Economist and International Development expert. She holds a significant position on the boards of Standard Chartered Bank, Twitter, Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) and the Africa Risk Capacity (ARC).

The post US Tackles Okonjo Iweala’s Emergence As WTO DG appeared first on Business News in Nigeria.

As the race for the WTO job enters the final month, Okonjo-Iweala claimed to be uncowed.

The 66-year-old said the reforms she spearheaded as Nigerian finance minister led to her octogenarian mother, Kamene Okonjo being abducted from her home for five days in 2012.

Recounting the incident, the Nigerian former minister said rather than give her fear for challenges like the WTO race, the abduction has rather equipped her to replace Roberto Azevedo as the DG of the trade body.

“Would you be more scared if your mother was kidnapped and held to ransom with a demand that you resign your job publicly on television – or else you would not see her alive – or if you said to the US and China, you have to bridge your differences? It’s going to be a tough task but you can’t compare it with what I’ve had to go through,” she was quoted as saying.

When asked what distinguished her from her main rival to win – Dr Mohamed, who’s a high-flying African woman, Dr Okonjo-Iweala explained that she’s “the only candidate working at the intersection of public health and trade”, given her current role as chairman of the board at Gavi, the vaccine alliance backed by the Bill Gates Foundation.

Her words: “The WTO has to be part of the solution to the Covid-19 pandemic,” she said. “The WTO has rules on how, in a public health emergency, you can invoke the possibility for countries to license products and produce them to make them more affordable and accessible.

“South Africa invoked it during the HIV crisis when people were dying because they couldn’t get access to HIV drugs.”

She further pledged to “massively step up the monitoring effort” of countries imposing export restrictions on medical goods and medicines.

“What is needed now is not more of the same but a reformer who can ­actually change things,” she said.

“If you don’t do this, the WTO will go into irrelevance.”

Okonjo-Iweala is however in the race alongside Myung-hee.

The race of the next WTO DG also has one more female candidate, Amina Mohamed, who did not get the support of the EU.

Recall that some weeks ago, eight candidates (five men and three women) started the race. But have now been shortlisted to five through a selection process.

The remaining five candidates that will advance to the next round of elimination are -Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria, Yoo Myung-hee of the Republic of Korea, Amina Mohamed of Kenya, Mohammad Maziad Al-Tuwaijri of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Liam Fox of the United Kingdom.

After today (Tuesday, October 6, 2020), WTO will announce two finalists, and later on Saturday, November 7, the winner will be disclosed to the world.

The post WTO Job: Okonjo-Iweala Says She’s Uncowed appeared first on Business News in Nigeria.