Sumner Sambo, Arise Television journalist, has said that the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, is not considering being the running mate of the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, for the 2027 election.
It was gathered that Sambo revealed this on Monday while speaking on Arise Television’s ‘The Morning Show’ on the ongoing political speculation that Okonjo is Atiku’s vice-presidential candidate.
But Sambo said Okonjo-Iweala was not ready to leave a lucrative position at the WTO, where she is currently serving a second term that runs until 2029.
It was unlikely, he said, that Okonjo would sacrifice a secured international appointment for a political contest in Nigeria, especially an election still enmeshed in legal and political uncertainties.
“Well, from the latest I have heard Ngozi Okonjo-Iwela, though she may be considered and all of that, she is not willing to actually leave a lucrative job as a DG of the World Trade Organisation to actually consider that.
“She has made it known to them, and that is understandable because she just resumed in September last year, and she has a tenure that will run for a second term till 2029.
“So what will she be doing, you know, as a vice presidential candidate of a party that’s still in court, facing challenges. I think she’s already got a secure term there and wouldn’t consider the offer.”
