Reps Minority Caucus Hails Okonjo-Iweala on Emergence as WTO DG

The Minority Caucus in the House of Representatives has congratulated the former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, for her successful emergence as the Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) despite all the hurdles.

The caucus in a statement by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, observed that the emergence of Okonjo-Iweala as DG of the world trade body, “has reinforced global confidence in international consensus and recognition of competence and proficiency over provincial considerations.”

According to the lawmakers, “Indeed, the election of Dr. Okonjo-Iweala to head the WTO is well-deserving, given her wealth of 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.

“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”, the Minority Leader stated.

The lawmakers charged Dr. Okonjo Iweala 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 caucus however urged the new WTO DG to have a special focus 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.