Headlines
WTO Election: Three Candidates Dropped As Okonjo-Iweala Makes List of Five Top Contenders
Nigeria’s former Minister of Finance and Foreign Affairs, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, is one of five candidates left in the race for the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
A report by Bloomberg on Friday said members of the global trade body decided to select Mrs Okonjo-Iweala, former Managing Director of the World Bank, along with four other candidates they considered the best fit for the next DG of the organisation as the race moves closer to the final phase in the coming weeks.
The report said three of the initial candidates cleared for the race were compelled to drop from the race after failing to muster sufficient support during the first of three rounds of voting for the eight candidates confirmed to contest the election.
The three candidates, who dropped out, included Jesus Seade of Mexico; Hamid Mamdouh of Egypt, and Tudor Ulianovschi of Moldova.
“Their expertise and high professional and personal qualities are highly valued and respected by all members,” the WTO General Council Chairman, David Walker, was quoted to have said of Mrs Okonjo-Iweala and her other opponents in a statement on Friday.
The group said the second phase of consultations scheduled to begin on September 24 will continue till October 6, with the WTO billed to announce the two final candidates after.
The new DG of the organisation is expected to emerge by November 7.
The new DG would succeed the former occupant of the position, Roberto Azevedo of Brazil, who offered to step down from office at the end of August, a year before his term was due to end.
The remaining contenders who are all either current or former ministers in their respective countries include Mohammad Maziad Al-Tuwaijri who is Saudi Arabia’s former minister of economy and planning; Liam Fox, the UK’s former secretary of state for international trade; Yoo Myung-hee, South Korea’s trade minister; Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and Amina Jibril, Kenya’s former international trade minister.
Premium Times
US President, Donald Trump, has ordered the Pentagon – headquarters of the United States Department of Defense – to prioritize the protection of Christians targeted by ISIS terrorists in Nigeria.
U.S. Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, disclosed this on Wednesday while stressing that the mission has quietly led to the killing of ISIS’ second-in-command in Nigeria.
Speaking during a cabinet meeting chaired by President Trump at the White House, Hegseth said:
“To give you a sense of how committed this president is (referring to President Trump), maybe, a year ago, he heard the call of Nigerian Christians who are being targeted and killed by ISIS in Nigeria.
“He said, Pete, I want the war department to focus on ensuring that we do whatever we can to protect those Christians”.
He further said: “Partnerships like that can take some time behind the scenes, but he never wavered on it. We got the assets there over the last month. There has not been much coverage of this”.
He added that U.S. intelligence gathered during the operation helped lead to the deaths of “hundreds” of ISIS fighters tied to attacks on Christians and threats against the U.S. homeland.
“We killed ISIS’ number two in Nigeria, who is most responsible for killing Christians and trying to target U.S. homeland.
“There’s a lot of things we do that the media pays attention to, and a lot of things that the president empowers the Department to do on behalf of the American people, that he deserves great credit for,” Hegseth concluded.
Controversial social media activist, Martins Vincent Otse aka VeryDarkMan (VDM), has reacted strongly to allegations surrounding the circulation of an alleged audio involving President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
VDM spoke in a lengthy video posted on social media after comments credited to presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, accused him of disseminating a fake audio related to the President.
In the video, VDM claimed he began receiving several calls warning him not to return to Nigeria following the controversy surrounding the audio clip.
According to him, some associates advised him to remain abroad over fears that he could be arrested upon his return to the country.
Reacting to the development, VDM denied any wrongdoing and insisted that he had the constitutional right to criticise the government and comment on national issues.
He accused government officials of paying more attention to critics on social media instead of addressing pressing security challenges confronting the country.
The activist also criticised the Federal government over insecurity, kidnappings and economic hardship, arguing that Nigerians were facing difficult living conditions across the country.
VDM further alleged that some individuals were attempting to create a narrative to justify possible actions against him because of his criticism of the administration.
He maintained that he would continue speaking on issues affecting Nigerians, particularly insecurity and governance.
During the emotional video, the social commentator repeatedly questioned why government officials were allegedly more vocal about online controversies than incidents of bandit attacks and kidnappings.
He also urged Nigerians to participate actively in the 2027 general elections, insisting that citizens must make decisions based on the performance of political leaders.
The controversy followed comments attributed to Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Information and Strategy, who reportedly stated that VDM should “face the weight of the law” over the alleged circulation of fake audio involving the President.
As of the time of filing this report, there was no official confirmation from security agencies regarding any planned action against the activist.
By Eric Elezuo
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has been declared winner of the presidential primary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The declaration was made at the Trascorp Hilton Hotel, where the final collation of results was made.
The former Vice President polled a total of 1, 846, 370 votes to defeat his closest rival, former Governor of Rivers State, Hon Rotimi Amaechi, who scored just over 500 thousand votes. Alhaji Muhammed Hayatu-Deen came third.
