WTO: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala takes up American citizenship

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Former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has taken American citizenship.

This is coming after more than 30 years after the former two-time minister studied in the United States.

Bloomberg reports that Okonjo-Iweala actually took US citizenship in 2019 as she fought for the position of the director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

According to Bloomberg, most of the candidates battling for the position with the Nigerian boast of dual citizenship, which experts believe may boost their chances at getting the much-coveted job.

The other candidates for the position, such as Jesús Seade Kuri, is Mexican and Lebanese.

Also, Amina Mohamed, a Kenyan minister, is also Somali and Abdel-Hamid Mamdouh is both Swiss and Egyptian.

Nigeria’s former finance minister worked in the US for well over 25 years without taking up its citizenship.

However, this affected her when she ran for the president of the World Bank in 2012 because she was not backed by the US, losing the seat to Korean-American Jim Yong Kim.