Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), on Monday, March 15, visited President Muhammadu Buhari in Aso Rock, Abuja.
Channels TV reports that the Nigerian former minister was led to the meeting with the president by his chief of staff, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, in company with the minister of foreign affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, as well as the minister of industry, trade, and investment, Niyi Adebayo.
An online source gathered that the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, was also among those who attended the meeting.’
The personal assistant to the president on new media, Bashir Ahmad, also announced her arrival at the Presidential Villa in a tweet.
Okonjo-Iweala, 66, was nominated as Nigeria’s candidate to lead the WTO by President Buhari in June 2020.
She emerged as the first woman and first African to lead the international body in February 2021, while her term began on March 1 and would last until the next four years.
According to the report, the term, which is renewable, would expire on August 31, 2025.
TheCable reports that while speaking after her meeting with Buhari, Okonjo-Iweala acknowledged that the president campaigned for her tirelessly.
She confirmed that Buhari wrote several letters and called many world leaders to support her candidacy.
Okonjo-Iweala said:
“You nominated me, you wrote hundreds of letters, called up hundreds of world leaders. Without your personal and direct intervention, it may not have worked. The people of Nigeria also supported me massively. The youths were wonderful, always encouraging, backing me up on social media.
“Mr President, the world recognizes what you have done. Since its establishment, only men have led the WTO. Now, a woman has emerged for the first time, and she’s a Nigerian. We are so honoured.
“WTO will do more to help Nigeria, but we need to add value to our products in order to trade more. We should exploit all the opportunities in front of us.”
Meanwhile, Another source had previously reported that the former coordinating minister of the Nigerian economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has arrived in the country.
It was reported that Okonjo-Iweala, who is on a one-week visit to Nigeria, was received by Nasir Sani-Gwarzo, the permanent secretary of the ministry of industry, trade, and investment.
Okonjo-Iweala said her visit, the first since emerging WTO DG, was to show appreciation to Nigeria’s leader President Muhammadu Buhari for his support during the race to the top job.
The former minister, who served under the Goodluck Jonathan administration, was expected to meet with President Buhari on Monday, March 15.
Okonjo-Iweala told pressmen that she will discuss with President Buhari and other relevant stakeholders what her leadership of the WTO holds for Nigeria’s economy.
In a related report, Okonjo-Iweala thanked Nigerians for their support before she emerged as the director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Okonjo-Iweala expressed her appreciation on Monday, March 15, when she visited the ministry of foreign affairs.
The WTO DG appreciated young Nigerians whom she said were always on social media cheering her on.
