Egypt has opposed Nigeria’s nomination of former finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for the position of the director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), after Nigeria named her to replace Yonov Frederick Agah.

The North African country hinged its rejection on the premise that Nigeria had withdrawn its earlier nominee Yonov Frederick Agah and replaced him with Okonjo-Iweala, and had hence forfeited its interest in the WTO’s top job.

The Presidency did not give reasons for withdrawing Agah’s candidacy.

Egypt has asked the WTO’s ministerial committee on candidatures for the election to reject the nomination of OKonjo-Iweala.

It argued that only three candidates, representing Benin, Egypt and Nigeria, had already gotten the endorsement of the Executive Council to contest.

It named the three candidates to include Eloi Laourou of the Republic of Benin, Abdulhameed Mamdouh of the Arab Republic of Egypt Arab Republic, and Agah of Nigeria.

Egypt insisted that its nominee, “Abdulhameed Mamdouh and Eloi Laourou of the Republic of Benin are currently the only two endorsed African candidates.”

It added in a memo to the African Union Commission, “In this context, the Permanent Mission of Egypt would like to highlight that Government of Egypt is undertaking consultations with the Government Benin with the aim of reaching a consensus on one African candidate between the only two currently endorsed African candidates, and will communicate the outcomes of these consultations to the esteemed Ministerial Committee at the soonest possible date.”

The Presidency has however not reacted to the new development.