Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has debunked claim of threatening to resign from her position.
An earlier report had claimed that Okonjo-Iweala, who is the first female and first African to head the WTO, was feeling frustrated with the workings of the organization and has floated the idea of resigning if no headway can be found on critical issues.
According to Bloomberg, five trade officials, who declined to be identified, reported that Okonjo-Iweala has fully grasped the frustrating reality of the WTO’s historical inertia, and has considered quitting.
It was reported that she repeatedly told ambassadors and staff that she could easily walk away from the job, and reminded them she hasn’t bought any furniture for her temporary home in Geneva.
However responding to a question on if she threatened to resign her appointment, a source in Zurich, Switzerland, told ThisDay;
“She did not threaten. She did express quite a lot of frustration. I will tell you … she is an extraordinary person but at a very difficult job.
“I do not think it is easy to explain to someone how difficult the job actually is. There are only a handful of people that sat in that seat. I have seen closely a lot of director generals and any time you think you have a difficult job, just think about the director general of WTO.”
Bloomberg also reported that Okonjo Iweala responded to a question of having an interest in the 2023 general elections. It was reported that she denied any interest in running for the Nigerian presidency, calling such speculation “utterly ridiculous and not true”.
She said;
“I just got here, I’m enjoying what I am doing. It is a very exciting job and I am trying to have some success here.”
