In what seems to be a last ditch move, the United States representative at World Trade Organization took to the floor to insist that South Korea’s candidate remained a contender, and that Washington will not recognise Okonjo-Iweala as the consensus candidate for appointment as director-general.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was slated to be the new Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Making her the first woman, and the first African, to lead the institution.
But in Plot twist, the United States has moved to halt the emergence of Nigeria’s former Minister of Finance, who is also a US citizen.
The US had placed it’s support on South Korea’s trade chief, Yoo Myung-hee, who is Ngozi’s only contender in the final phase of the race.
In response to circumstance, the General Counsel has postponed its announcement of the new Director-General until a further meeting, which is scheduled for 9 November; after the US presidential elections.
Meanwhile the odds may not be in favour of the United State as they have limited power to stop the Nigerian candidate’s emergence. Unlike the World Bank where the country has a larger voting power than other countries, WTO is run by the consensus of every member country.
“The WTO is run by its member governments. All major decisions are made by the membership as a whole,” the organisation says on its website.
“In this respect, the WTO is different from some other international organizations such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
“Where consensus is not possible, the WTO agreement allows for voting — a vote being won with a majority of the votes cast and on the basis of ‘one country, one vote’.”
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