W/Bank presidency: Ngozi congratulates Kim, faults selection process

[DT]

Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala today conceded defeat to the newly appointed President of the World Bank Dr Jim Yong Kim.

She also pledged to work with him "for the sake of the poor people of the world."

Addressing newsmen late evening today in Abuja, Okonjo-Iweala said Kim had called her and she congratulated him but she insisted that the World Bank need to open up to merit, open and transparent selection of its president.

She said her participation and that Dr Jose Antonio Ocampo nevertheless has won important victories, by showing "our credible and merit based challenge to a long standing and unfair tradition will ensure that the process of choosing a world bank president will never be the same again."

She said "I look forward to working with him (Jim Yong Kim), staff and stakeholders of the World Bank Group for the benefit of poor people around the world. Their plight is at the heart of the mandate of the institution and we must never lose sight of that.

"With regard to the selection process, it is clear to me that we need to make it more open, transparent and merit based. We need to make sure that we do not contribute to a democratic deficit in global governance."

||| Read her full statement here |||

Daily Trust