Report: Okonjo-Iweala takes American citizenship
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a two-time minister of finance in Nigeria, has taken American citizenship — more than 30 years after she studied in the United States.
According to Bloomberg, Okonjo-Iweala, who is running for the office of the director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), took US citizenship in 2019.
Most of the candidates running for the office of the DG at WTO boast of dual citizenship, which experts say may boost their chances at getting the much-coveted job.
Jesús Seade Kuri is Mexican and Lebanese; Amina Mohamed serves as a minister in Kenya, but has Somali roots; Abdel-Hamid Mamdouh is both Swiss and Egyptian.
Some of the candidates flaunt their dual nationality in the uploaded biography, while some others are quiet about it.
Okonjo-Iweala arrived in the US 47 years ago and worked there for more than 25 years without taking up the country’s citizenship.
She ran for the president of the World Bank in 2012 without the backing of the United States and lost the sit to Korean-American Jim Yong Kim.
The GAVI chair holds a Bachelor’s in economics from Harvard University and Ph.D. in regional economics and development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
She has honourary degrees from over a dozen universities worldwide.
Here is how all eight candidates for the WTO top job stand.
It’s a shame how a Nigerian leader like her would place priority on taking US citizenship instead of bettering her nation. I always didn’t like women’s participation in politics or leadership. See the rubbish now.
How great to not like women’s participation in leadership, makes me laugh. The men in leadership are such great examples, who have done so well in bettering the nation. I duff my cap
She took the citizenship in 2019, 4 years after leaving her 2nd attempt to better her nation by offering public service in Nigeria.
I see hypocrites commenting on this forum. Are others contestants with dual citizenship hypocrites to their country too?