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Former president, Goodluck Jonathan, Director General, World Trade Organisation, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and former transportation minister, Rotimi Amaechi, were among dignitaries who attended the reception organised by businessman, Tony Elumelu, on Tuesday.
The reception was to celebrate the conferment of national honours on him and his brother and federal lawmaker, Ndudi Elumelu.
As the world celebrates the International Girl Child day, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and singer, Teni have been conferred with national honours.
While Okonjo-Iweala and Amina were presented with the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) award at the National Honors Award held on Tuesday October 11, at the International Conference Centre in Abuja, Teni was awarded the Member of the Order of the Niger (MON).
The Director of the World Trade Organisation, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and author, Chimamanda Adichie met in Europe.
Okonjo-Iweala, who shared photos from their meeting on Saturday said:
“It was wonderful to catch up with my talented and creative younger sister, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie #ChimamandaReal. Star performance, as usual, at the European House #Ambrosetti_. So proud of you!”
The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said on Friday she has no desire to vie for the Nigerian presidency in 2023.
Okonjo-Iweala, who was reacting to speculations that she planned to resign from the WTO’s top job, dismissed the rumours as “utterly ridiculous and not true.”
The former Nigerian Minister of Finance took over as the intergovernmental organisation’s chief in March.
She is just seven months into her four-and-a-half-year term.
The former World Bank official told journalists she is enjoying her job at WTO.
Okonjo-Iweala said: “I just got here. I am enjoying what I’m doing. It is a very exciting job and I am trying to have some successes here.”
Bloomberg had reported on Thursday that the WTO Director-General considered resignation due to the “organisation’s historical inertia.”
The news agency reported that some WTO officials explained that Okonjo-Iweala privately floated the idea that she may resign if there is no headway in dealing with/providing solutions to the critical issues of the institution.
The officials also claimed that they suspect the Nigerian wants to take part in the country’s 2023 presidential election.
The U.S. says it supports the Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee as the next WTO Director-General.
The United States’ government has explained why it is opposed to the selection of former Nigerian finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, as the director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
The U.S. made its position known late Wednesday in a statement by the Office of the US trade representative on the WTO director-general selection process.
The United States said it supported the selection of Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee as the next WTO Director-General because she is “a bona fide trade expert who has distinguished herself during a 25-year career as a successful trade negotiator and trade policy maker.”
The statement said the minister has all the skills necessary to be an effective leader of the organization.
“This is a very difficult time for the WTO and international trade,” the statement said.
“There have been no multilateral tariff negotiations in 25 years, the dispute settlement system has gotten out of control, and too few members fulfill basic transparency obligations.
Although the U.S. did not mention Mrs Okonjo-Iweala, it however said that “The WTO is badly in need of major reform. It must be led by someone with real, hands-on experience in the field.”
This newspaper reported Wednesday that although she won the overwhelming support of the World Trade Organization’s 164 members, Mrs Okonjo-Iweala’s ambition suffered a setback as the United States failed to endorse her for the top job.
The former Nigerian minister had moved a step closer to becoming the first woman and the first African to be director of the global trade watchdog as she secured the support of a key group of trade ambassadors in Geneva.
But the U.S. raised last-minute objections to the process by which the new director general was being picked.
A spokesperson for the WTO on Wednesday said Mrs Okonjo-Iweala’s candidacy would be put to a meeting of the body’s governing general council on November 9.
