Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, WTO, has on Wednesday, confirmed that Atiku Abubakar, the 2027 Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, put together and led the best Economic Team as Vice President of Nigeria, till date.

The WTO DG spoke at the presentation of a book, titled: “The Pain and The Promise”, by Paul C. Nwabuikwu, who served as her Media Adviser, during the President Olusegun Obasanjo and Vice President Atiku Abubakar administration.

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala who attended the event as the Guest of Honour, stated during her address that she left her position at the World Bank, to assume a Ministerial position in Nigeria, after she was approached and informed of the economic plans Vice President Atiku was trying to achieve for Nigeria, by putting together a formidable Economic Team.

She noted also that Paul was one of the best parts of the Economic Team of excellence put together by Vice President Atiku.

The WTO DG hailed the success of the transformational Reforms programme spearheaded by Atiku, while crediting Paul for his great contribution in the masterful steering of communication that led to parts of the success.

Agreeing with some excerpts from the book, she acknowledged the hard work done by the Atiku-led Economic Team; specifically mentioning debt relief, public financial management, transparency, infrastructure development, entrepreneurship, institution building and structure reform.

While noting the hard work of the Economic Team, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala stated that she is proud and appreciative that she was part of that Team.

Speaking further, she stated that the Team’s work was not just about implementing Reforms, saying: “It was also about embodying a different type of government; a more accessible and accountable government, focused on results.”

She quoted a part of the book, saying: “Having observed them at close quarters, it is tempting to believe that members of the Economic Team were chosen, not only because they had what it takes to play leading roles in the Economic Reform process, but also because they share a strong collective conviction that government needs to demystified; that governance needs to be focused on what matters, results. Their motto seemed to be, let us roll up our sleeves and get the work done with as little farce as possible.”

She went further to speak on the reform of the Banking consolidation, agreeing that Banking consolidation restored confidence in the safety of peoples deposits.

Iweala stated that until Nigerians can overcome the ethnic, religious and regional divides embedded in our society, to forge a social compact that agrees on key directions for the nation, directions shall remain steady, no matter who is in government.

She concluded: “I think Nigeria will find it difficult to move forward, at the pace required to create enduring prosperity for our people.”

Recall, that Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was Minister of Finance from 2003 to 2006, then got sacked by President Obasanjo, for going against his controversial Third Term Agenda. He later appointed her as Minister of Foreign Affairs, where she served for just 63 days, before returning back to the World Bank.