The House of Representatives has urged Egypt and Kenya to persuade their candidates for the position of the Director-General of the World Trade Organization, WTO to step down for Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala.
The former Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Economy is running against Amina Muhammed and Hamid Mamdouh from Kenya and Egypt respectively.
Also running for the position are Jesús Seade Kuri of Mexico, a trade negotiator, South Korean Trade Minister, Yoo Myung-hee and Tudor Ulianovschi, a former foreign minister of Moldova.
The resolution to back the candidature of Dr. Iweala followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance moved by the Minority Leader of the House, Ndudi Elumelu on Tuesday.null
Elumelu in his motion noted that Africa risks losing out of the position if three candidates from the continent should go into the election without reaching a consensus.
He also commended the President, Muhammadu Buhari for nominating Iweala whom according to him is best for the job.
“The WTO has a vital role to play in trade activities, hence the need for a capable hand. Because of concerns that this is the perfect time for Nigeria to head this organization, we should reach out to the governments of Egypt and Kenya to rally round our candidate. Nigeria has supported other African countries for multilateral positions,” he said.
Furthermore, the House urged President Buhari to rally round other African countries to support Iweala for the job
