Nigeria’s former minister of finance Dr Ngozi Okojo Iweala’ candidature has been endorsed by the Economic Community of West African States ECOWAS as its candidate for the World Trade Organization Director General Job.

Dr Iweal’s nomination had initially suffered a setback, when Egypt opposed her nomination for the position of the director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), after Nigeria named her to replace Yonov Frederick Agah.

Nigeria had earlier submitted a Note Verbal on 4th June to the Commission informing it that the candidature of Amb Yunov Frederick Agah had been withdrawn and replaced with Dr Okonjo-Iweala.

In a statement by Ferdinand Nwonye, the Commission’s spokesperson on foreign relations, the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government endorsed Okonjo-Iweala due to her long years of managerial experience at the top echelons of multilateral institutions.

“Her established reputation as a fearless reformer, her excellent negotiating and political skills, her experience of over 30 years as a Development Economist with a long standing interest in trade, her excellent academic qualifications, her positions as Managing Director World Bank, and currently as Board Chair Gavi, and AU Special Envoy to Mobilize Financial Resources for the fight against Covid19,” accordingly stood her out in the statement by the Commission. The position of WTO DG runs from 2021 to 2025 and no African has assumed the position of Director-General of the Organization since it creation on the first of January 1995.