Okonjo-Iweala now an American citizen

Okonjo-Iweala is now an American citizen.

She worked in America for over 25 years of her life.

According to reports, dual citizenship may boost her chances of being elected DG of WTO.

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 she is also Somali; 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.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that Aliko Dangote, one of Africa's richest business mogul has put out his voice in support of former finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, as the best candidate to emerges as director-general of the World Trade Organization.

Dangote believes that the WTO needs a professional with proven international records like Okonjo-Iweala at its hem of affairs.

The Nigerian tycoon endorsed the former minister for the envied position on his verified Twitter page on Tuesday, September 1.

Legit.ng had also reported that the candidacy of Okonjo-Iweala for the position of the director-general of the WTO seemed shaky.

This was as the Arab Republic of Egypt had claimed that the nomination of Okonjo-Iweala by President Muhammadu “is not in conformity with the executive council decision" since the time for this nomination had elapsed in 2019, specifically Saturday, November 30.

The African nation called on the ministerial committee on candidatures of the African Union (AU), that only two persons have been nominated and endorsed for the embattled office: Abdulhameed Mamdouh of Egypt and Eloi Laourou of the Republic of Benin.