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The Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has debunked alleged statement claiming that she is being attacked for visiting President Bola Tinubu.
The former Nigeria’s Minister of Finance in a post on Twitter on Wednesday evening, described the statement which she said was being circulated on WhatsApp as “wickedly false designed to create mischief among Nigerians.”
She also asked that the statement be disregarded.
“It has just been brought to my attention that there is a false statement circulating on what’s app attributed to me saying that I am being attacked for my visit to President Tinubu.
“That statement circulating is false, Infact wickedly false designed to create mischief among Nigerians. Please disregard the statement,” Okonjo-Iweala wrote.
The WTO DG met with President Tinubu on Tuesday at the Aso Villa in Abuja.
Speaking after her meeting with the President, Okonjo-Iweala told journalists at the Presidential Villa that they spoke on ways to create jobs for young people and trying to support women and children, whom she said bore the brunt of the suffering in the country.
The meeting comes two months after both leaders met in France at the Global Pact Summit in Paris hosted by President Emmanuel Macron.
Okonjo-Iweala served twice as Nigeria’s Finance Minister between 2003 and 2006 as well as from 2011 to 2015, the first woman to hold the position.
She also spent a 25-year career at the World Bank rising to the Number 2 position of Managing Director.
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala in a chat with State House correspondents after the meeting expressed her appreciation for the opportunity to meet with President Tinubu, along with Dr. Muhammad Pete, to explore ways in which support could be extended to Nigerians during these trying times.
While emphasising that her visit was not an official WTO mission, Okonjo-Iweala highlighted the urgency of the situation, acknowledging the difficulties faced by Nigerians on various fronts.
She highlighted the pressing need to extend support to Nigerians during these challenging times, acknowledging the hardships faced by the Nigerian populace abroad.
Acknowledging the WTO role, Okonjo-Iweala revealed ongoing efforts to collaborate with Nigerian women entrepreneurs, particularly in small and medium enterprises.
She said the aim is to enhance the quality of their products, expand international trade, and facilitate digital trade initiatives.
She said “we saw the President and focused on how we support Nigerians at this time of need.
“We all know that things are very difficult for Nigerians outside, everyone is struggling. I’m here myself on a quiet visit. So this was not really an official WTO mission but we’re able to engage with Mr. President, talk about what kinds of programmes that could be put in place to make sure that the suffering of Nigerians are being alleviated.
“And we had a really good conversation on trying to look at the community and grassroots programmes that can be put in place to create jobs for young people, trying to support women and children, who are bearing the brunt of some of the suffering in the country.
“We talked about how for the longer term, we need to do that investment opportunities that Nigeria can cease, including in the pharmaceutical industry.
“We also talked about what type of support the World Trade Organization can bring. We’re already working in Nigeria with women in particular, who own small and medium enterprises to try to help them upgrade the quality of their products.
“Whether it’s in the agricultural area, in textiles and in other areas so that they can sell more internationally.
“We’re trying to help them with digital trade, the wave of the future digital trade, so how do we train and empower Nigerian women and owners of small and medium-sized enterprises so they can trade more and create more jobs?
“So that’s what’s needed now, helping Nigerians to alleviate the difficult conditions that they are in.
“So that is what we discussed with Mr. President and as the director general of the World Trade Organization, we are going to try to do the best we can to support Nigerians and this particular time.
On his part, minister designate, Ali Pate, highlighted the core objectives of the visit by the director general.
He echoed the sentiment that President Tinubu is acutely aware of the challenges faced by the population and remains steadfastly committed to alleviating their hardships.
He said the conversation revolved around a multi-pronged approach, targeting vulnerable groups such as women, children, and youth, while also exploring avenues for attracting crucial investment to stimulate economic growth.
Pate emphasised the transitory nature of the difficulties currently being encountered and expressed optimism that President Tinubu’s visionary leadership would guide Nigeria towards a stronger and more united future.
Notably, he said the President also shared insights into his healthcare vision, recognizing the universal significance of health-related policies and regulations.
Pate underscored the importance of addressing basic ailments such as malaria and providing vaccinations, and commended President Tinubu’s commitment to bolstering both primary healthcare systems and hospital care.
YOUNEWS recalled that sometimes around June , when President Tinubu attended an event at World Trade Organization, similar hoopla happened.
The Director-General, World Trade Orgainsation, WTO, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, then called on Nigerians to relax and stay united, noting that the attacks on her over her picture with President Tinubu were unnecessary.
She noted that the controversy surrounding why her picture with President Tinubu was posted late on her Twitter account shows how polarised Nigerians are.
Okonjo-Iweala was reacting to comments on social media about her pictures with other world leaders at the just concluded Paris Economic Summit as well as her picture with President Tinubu.
Some Nigerians called out the WTO leader for not posting a picture of President Bola Tinubu in the pictures of her meeting with some other nations’ presidents on her Twitter handle on Friday.
She later posted her picture with Tinubu on Saturday morning.
Reacting, the WTO boss said the controversy has exposed how polarised Nigeria has become.
She tweeted: “Nigerians, please relax! Re Paris, Interesting attacks from both sides. This sadly shows the depth of polarisation in our society.
“I post photos in the order received by accompanying staff or colleagues. Reading more into it is unwarranted. Let’s unite to build our country, not attack.”
The Paris summit, convened by President Emmanuel Macron, afforded President Tinubu the opportunity of projecting, on a global stage, his advocacy for widening the fiscal space, economic justice for Africa as the world accelerates the pace of energy transition and the urgency of addressing the pressing issues of poverty and climate change.
