6th February, 2021
President Muhammadu Buhari has welcomed the withdrawal of the U.S. objection to the emergence of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as Director General of World Trade Organization, WTO.
“We certainly welcome the decision of the new U.S administration to remove the last obstacle in the path of Dr. Okonjo-Iweala to becoming the first female and the first person of African descent to lead the organization,” said the President.
“Nigeria and the entire African continent are happy about this new U.S position, which signifies a shift and an important turnaround in the relations between our continent and the United States under the Biden administration.”
“Today, we see that the United States stands with Nigeria and Africa with the acceptance of our widely respected citizen, Okonjo-Iweala to lead the WTO.
“We look forward to working very closely with the new U.S administration on this and all issues of common interests, especially in such areas as accelerated economic growth, fight against terrorism and deepening progress on development issues.’’
The Office of the United States Trade Representative announced the shift in US position on Friday, moments after the South Korean candidate also withdrew.
This cleared the path for Okonjo-Iweala to become the first woman to head the WTO.