Headlines
WTO: Nigeria Woos US, Others to Support Okonjo-Iweala
The Federal Government on Friday said that it was currently reaching out to the United States and other members of the World Trade Organization to clear all bottlenecks to the emergence of Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as director-general of the WTO.
The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, who doubles as the Chairperson of the Campaign Strategy Team for Okonjo-Iweala, Amb. Mariam Katagum, disclosed this at an emergency virtual meeting that she convened on Friday.
Katagum and her team met to review and strategise on the way forward in the light of recent developments in the selection process for the appointment of a director-general for the trade organisation.
She said in a statement she personally signed and was made available to our correspondents in Abuja that Nigeria was persuading the United States to adopt the Nigerian candidate as WTO DG following the overwhelming support which Okonjo-Iweala had garnered.
The minister said, “Nigeria is currently reaching out to all members of the WTO including the United States of America and South Korea to overcome the impasse as well as persuade the United States to join the consensus in adopting the recommendation of the appointment of Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as DG-WTO.”
The third and final round of consultations for the selection of a DG for the WTO which commenced in Geneva on October 19, 2020 was concluded on October 27, 2020.
The Chairperson, WTO General Council, Amb. David Walker, of New Zealand, with the facilitators of the selection process, among others, on October 28, 2020, at the meeting of WTO Heads of Delegation in Geneva, informed the members of the organisation that Okonjo-Iweala secured overwhelming support of members.
However, the United States registered reservation on the outcome of the final round in view of the fact that its preference was still the candidate of South Korea.
The United States further informed the council that it would not join the consensus in selecting Okonjo Iweala as DG-WTO at the special general council of November 9, 2020.
Meanwhile, the Presidency on Friday quoted the President of the European Council, Mr Charles Michel, as reiterating Europe’s support for the bid of Okonjo-Iweala to become the next director-general of the WTO.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, disclosed this in a statement titled ‘Okonjo-Iweala: President Buhari in video conference with President of European Council’.
Adesina said Michel gave the re-assurance during a video conference the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), had with him.
According to the presidential spokesman, issues bordering on debt relief for Africa as well as the recharge of Lake Chad were also discussed.
The Punch
By Eric Elezuo
The Presidency has announce that President Bola Tinubu will be departing Abuja to (Wednesday) for Paris, France, on a ‘short working visit’.
A statement to the effect, signed and released by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, was however silent on the shape of international relationship the working visiting the president was embarking on will take, but noted that Tinubu will use the ‘retreat’ to review his administration’s mid-term performance and assess key milestones, as well as review progress of ongoing reforms.
While acknowledging that the president will spend ‘about a fortnight’ on the trip, the statement added he would supervise administration while away.
The statement in details
PRESIDENT TINUBU TO EMBARK ON WORKING VISIT TO PARIS
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will depart for Paris, France, today on a short working visit.
During the visit, the President will appraise his administration’s mid-term performance and assess key milestones.
He will also use the retreat to review the progress of ongoing reforms and engage in strategic planning ahead of his administration’s second anniversary.
This period of reflection will inform plans to deepen ongoing reforms and accelerate national development priorities in the coming year.
Recent economic strides reinforce the President’s commitment to these efforts, as evidenced by the Central Bank of Nigeria reporting a significant increase in net foreign exchange reserves to $23.11 billion—a testament to the administration’s fiscal reforms since 2023 when net reserves were $3.99 billion.
While away, President Tinubu will remain fully engaged with his team and continue to oversee governance activities.
He will return to Nigeria in about a fortnight.
President Bola Tinubu has sacked the Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, Mele Kyari.
Tinubu also dissolved its board, removing the Chairman, Chief Pius Akinyelure.
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on information and strategy, announced this in a statement on Wednesday.
Onanuga said Tinubu invoked his powers under section 59(2) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 to carry out the sweeping reconstitution, citing the need for “enhanced operational efficiency, restored investor confidence, and a more commercially viable NNPC”.
He announced that Tinubu has now approved a new 11-man board, which has Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the Group CEO and Ahmadu Musa Kida as non-executive chairman.
According to the statement, “Adedapo Segun, who replaced Umaru Isa Ajiya as the chief financial officer last November, has been appointed to the new board by President Tinubu.
“Six board members, non-executive directors, represent the country’s geopolitical zones. They are Bello Rabiu, North West, Yusuf Usman, North East, and Babs Omotowa, a former managing director of the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas( NLNG), who represents North Central.
“President Tinubu appointed Austin Avuru as a non-executive director from the South-South, David Ige as a Non-executive director from the South West, and Henry Obih as a non-executive director from the South East.
“Mrs Lydia Shehu Jafiya, permanent secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, will represent the ministry on the new board, while Aminu Said Ahmed will represent the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.”
He added said that all the appointments are effective today, April 2.
President Donald Trump claimed on Monday that Americans want him to run for another term, a step banned by the US constitution but which he continues describing as possible.
“People are asking me to run,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked about the possibility of a third term.
“I don’t know. I never looked into it. They do say there’s a way you can do it, but I don’t know about that, but I have not looked into it,” Trump said.
Trump was asked about the prospect of a race pitting him against former president Barack Obama, who served two terms.
“That would be a good one, I’d like that,” Trump said.
“I’m not joking” about the idea of seeking a third term, Trump said Sunday in an interview with NBC News.
The 78-year-old Republican served from 2017 to 2021 and began his second term in the White House on January 20.
The first US president, George Washington, established a tradition by not seeking a third term after completing his second one in 1797.
But this tradition was not formally added to the US constitution until after World War II, with the ratification of the 22nd amendment in 1951.
It says no one can be elected president more than two times.
