A woman has never led the organization in its 25-year history

World Trade Organization members selected two final candidates -- Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and South Korea’s Yoo Myung-hee -- to advance to the final round in the race to lead the Geneva-based trade body, according to people familiar with the matter.

By advancing two women to the final round of the selection process, the WTO will likely have the first female director general in its 25-year history.

Okonjo-Iweala served two stints as Nigeria’s finance minister and one term as foreign affairs minister. She has experience working at international international governance bodies as a former managing director of the World Bank and as a chairman at the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization.

Yoo is South Korea’s trade minister. During her 25-year career in government, she has helped expand her country’s trade network through bilateral accords with the U.S., China and the U.K.

WTO General Council Chairman David Walker plans to formally announce the results to the institution’s delegates on Thursday morning in Geneva.

The United Kingdom’s Liam Fox, Kenya’s Amina Chawahir Mohamed Jibril, and Saudi Arabia’s Mohammad Maziad Al-Tuwaijri did not secure enough support in the second round of consultations, according to people familiar with the matter.

The third and final phase of the consultation process will begin later this month and run until Nov. 6, after which the WTO will endeavor to name a consensus winner of the race.

Clouding the outlook for the selection process is the U.S. presidential election Nov. 3. The WTO makes decisions on a consensus basis, and a lack of American support for any of the finalists could mean delays in picking the new director-general.

If WTO members are unable to select a leader by consensus, a vote requiring a qualified majority could be held as a last resort, which would be an unprecedented development for the organization.

The campaign to lead the WTO during the most turbulent period of its 25-year existence is playing out against the backdrop of the pandemic, a worldwide recession, the U.S.-China battle for trade supremacy and the American election. President Donald Trump has blasted the WTO as the worst trade deal in U.S. history and pledges to overhaul it to better suit the country’s interests.

The vacancy for the top WTO job arose when Brazil’s Roberto Azevedo decided to step down at the end of August, a year before his term was due to end.

WTO members view the race as an opportunity to reshape the organization, whose mission of economic integration is under threat from protectionist policies around the globe. Without reform, it risks being sidelined during the biggest economic crisis in a century.

Okonjo-Iweala served two stints as Nigeria’s finance minister and one term as foreign affairs minister. She has experience working at international international governance bodies as a former managing director of the World Bank and as a chairman at the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization.

Fleshly:
It's easily predictable that she will win. There's something about an Igbo man/woman who's determined, there's no force that can stop him/her. Had Buhari shunned nepotism, and allowed an Igbo judge to represent Nigeria at ICC, there's no way he/she will be disqualified at preliminary stages like that Quota system almajiri judge!

I'm sure Yoruba Muslims and their northern almajiri counterparts will surely be pained by this news, but do they really have a choice?? We Ndigbo will continue to be ahead of everybody. We have determined to rule and lead Nigeria and as anyone can see we are using our indefatigable propaganda machinery to bring down anything that stands on our way. For Example the ongoing demystificstion of the drug baron opolo eye bourdillion thief - Tinubu and the stigmatization of the terrorist in chief Elrufai, are some of it handiwors. By the time we are done with them, we will focus our attention on that short engine pretender pastor in Aso villa. 2023 is ours to make!!! It's either we make it or NO ONE WILL!!

But let me say this for the sake of those fickle minded Igbos, please stop falling for the cheap emotional blackmail of futa jalon illeterates, who keep asking Ndigbo to build bridges. To be honest, there's no tribe that has built bridges more than Ndigbo, but time and again when we build those bridges are built, the Yoruba Muslims and their northern almajiri counterparts will burn them down out of envy. Now this generation says no MORE! WE ain't interested in building bridges again, and this is paining them because they have discovered that we are ready to square it off with them, and they know we will win!!

Yeah, we will campaign in the almajiri north and we will use our people there to secure their votes, after all the fulanis believe that Igbos are far superior to them, so they have no choice than to vote for our candidate. Though, the northern elites are not happy with an Igbo man ruling Nigeria because they believe he will not easily succumb to pressure, but again they don't have a choice since America has now declared interest in Nigerian elections. And all of us know that the new US foreign policy in Nigeria under president Trump is in favour of Ndigbo, can everyone now see how intelligent and smart we are?

Immediately Buhari won his elections, unlike Yoruba people who's elders would have gone go to the villa cap in hand begging for handouts, we Ndigbo said NO WAY!! We must never lose our honour, we've rejected Buahari thrice and we will continue to reject him. So what did we do?? We first started with IPOB in order to create a political leverage, thereafter, we took over the cyber space, in order to make sure that news coming outta Nigeria is always in our favour. After that we stood and campaigned for Trump to get elected and after that we began working for our people to manage international organizations. This is a master stroke!! You see why we are always confident in ourselves?? Because we know how to get things done!! No other tribe in Nigeria could have pulled a fast one on a mad general who is the president and even at that remained adamant after he became president except Ndigbo. Even if we conduct elections 10 times, Buhari will still lose Igbo votes and we are not apologetic about it. Sometimes when I remember I'm Igbo man I feel intoxicated because nothing in life can be better than that.

So you now see why the northern elites are pushing for GEJ presidency, because they know for sure an Igbo man is coming and they are morbidly afraid of it, because they understand that Igbos don't cave in under pressure and they don't like that. But do we care?? NEVER!

Now imagine NOI as the DG of WTO and Peter Obi as the president of Nigeria. I tell you not even South Africa can measure up with Ndigbo in terms of GDP Per capita. When you see most of our governors building airport, do you think it's just for fun?? No! It's in anticipation of what is to come. The world is about to be taken by storm by Ndigbo. But we must play our own by remaining steadfast on the part of independent thinking and same mindedness.

LAguy:


How old are you

Fleshly:
It's easily predictable that she will win. There's something about an Igbo man/woman who's determined, there's no force that can stop him/her. Had Buhari shunned nepotism, and allowed an Igbo judge to represent Nigeria at ICC, there's no way he/she will be disqualified at preliminary stages like that Quota system almajiri judge!

MarrisManah:

Oga shut up... Even NOI will be appalled by this stupidity you're showing.