Business
Ex-British PM, Gordon Brown, endorses Okonjo-Iweala for WTO job
BY KAZIE UKO
Former British Prime Minister, Mr. Gordon Brown, has endorsed the candidacy of Nigeria’s Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, for the top job of Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Mr Brown’s endorsement is the latest of such high profile backing for the Nigerian nominee, coming after that by respected Patrick Lumumba, director of Kenya’s Law School who also served as the director of Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission.
Lumumba, who is from the same country as Amina Mohamed, who is also contesting for the WTO job, said Okonjo-Iweala is the better candidate — based on credentials.
Mr Brown, in a report published by The Times UK, argued that Okonjo-Iweala has a record of delivering results in “the toughest of jobs”.
He said that Dr Okonjo-Iweala would make an “outstanding success” of running the Swiss-based regulator, which is facing an existential crisis while searching for its next director-general and grappling with the global economic disruption caused by Covid-19.
By backing Dr Okonjo-Iweala and insisting she is respected “across the whole of the world”, Mr Brown, a former Labour leader and chancellor, has passed over Liam Fox, the former Conservative trade secretary, whom Britain has nominated for the job.
READ: No consensus candidate in Africa’s bid for WTO top job
Dr Okonjo-Iweala, a former Nigerian finance minister, now leads the board of Gavi, the global vaccine alliance.
Reacting to the endorsement by Mr. Brown, an excited Okonjo-Iweala took to her Twitter handle, saying: “Grateful to @OfficeGSBrown for this wonderful endorsement.”
Okonjo-Iweala is up against seven other contestants for the WTO’s DG job. They are: Dr Jesús Seade Kuri of Mexico, Mr Abdel-Hamid Mamdouh of Egypt, Mr Tudor Ulianovschi of Moldova, Ms Yoo Myung-hee of Republic of Korea, Ms Amina C. Mohamed of Kenya, Mr Mohammad Maziad Al-Tuwaijri Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Dr Liam Fox United Kingdom.