The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mariam Katagum, made this call in a statement on Thursday, News Agency of Nigeria, NAN reports.

Katagum, who is also the Chairperson of the Okonjo-Iweala Campaign Team, described her as “the best choice for the job”.

She commended the Economic Community of West African States and the European Union for backing the Nigerian candidate.

“These are excellent testimonies of her eminent qualification for the top job. The WTO as of today needs a DG with multiple skills to revive the challenged spirit of trade liberalisation worldwide.

“The WTO faces a lot of problems currently, and confronting these challenges necessarily requires building trust among the membership especially as the problems are not solely of a technical nature.

“Only a DG with the requisite political and negotiating skills coupled with multilateral experience can ensure deep engagement of the Members in order to restore trust and build a truly efficient organisation.

“Dr Iweala’s qualities and experience in managing multilateral issues, in trade facilitation and negotiation as well as brokering deals and agreements with high political stakes, put her in good standing,” the Minister said.

Recall that WTO members had on Thursday selected two final candidates, Okonjo-Iweala and South Korea’s Yoo Myung-hee, to advance to the final round in the race to lead the Geneva-based trade body.