The House of Representatives has expressed its support for the quest of the minister of Finance and coordinating minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for the position of the president of the World Bank.
The lawmakers declared their support yesterday while adopting the resolution of a motion moved as a matter of urgent national importance by Hon Austin Ugbaburo on the need for the House to give her its backing.
Ugbeburo noted that this is the first time that a Nigerian will be vying for the position and it is pertinent for the legislature to endorse her candidature “so that the whole world will know that she has our support because she is eminently qualified to hold that position.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, yesterday in Abidjan said she would fight to win the position of the World Bank President, after getting fresh endorsements from AU and ECOWAS.
The AU on Monday in Addis Ababa, endorsed Okonjo-Iweala as its candidate for the top job, while ECOWAS Heads of States on Tuesday in Abidjan, also declared their support for the former Managing Director.
The endorsements buoyed the chances of the former Managing Director of the World Bank, who had spent over 20 years working as a staff of the Bank and rose to the position of a Vice President.
Okonjo-Iweala, in an interview with the West Africa correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said she had the track record of leading the bank “in spite of the odds of history.”
On U.S. President Barack Obama’s endorsement of another candidate, she said: “Let’s give it a good fight, with a level playing ground we still stand the chance to win. ’’