The legal opinion is
contained in a letter dated June 15, in which the counsel presented its views
to the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Nigeria to the African Union in
Addis Ababa.
Referring to its
Note verbal 150/2020 dated June 9, demanding the immediate review of the
opinion of the Office of the Legal of the AUC, the counsel argued against the
nomination of Mrs Okonjo-Iweala, adding that it was against extant rules.
The letter, seen by
PREMIUM TIMES, comes against the background of controversies trailing Mrs
Okonjo-Iweala’s nomination for the top job.
Controversial
nomination
Mrs Okonjo-Iweala, a
former Nigerian finance minister, was nominated for the position by President
Muhammadu Buhari after Nigeria withdrew the candidacy of Yunov Agah, Nigeria’s
permanent representative to WTO.
Mr Agah’s candidacy,
already approved by AU Executive Council, was withdrawn in a request letter
dated June 4.
In a diplomatic note
through Nigeria’s mission in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, which hosts the AU
headquarters, Mr Buhari announced Mrs Okonjo-Iweala as the country’s candidate
for the WTO job.
The two other
African candidates shortlisted by the AU alongside Mr Agah were Egypt’s Hamid
Mamdouh, a trade lawyer, member of the WTO Secretariat, and trade negotiator
for Egypt; and Beninoise Eloi Laourou, the ambassador and permanent
representative of Benin to the United Nations and other organisations in
Geneva.
Mr Buhari did not
give reasons for withdrawing Mr Agah’s candidacy but the president mentioned
Mrs Okonjo-Iweala’s record of accomplishments in international development and
finance.
Mr Agah, who has
about 30 years experience in international trade, has spent 15 years at the
WTO, starting as Nigerian Permanent Representative to WTO in 2005 before
becoming the organisation’s deputy DG in 2013.
Mrs Okonjo-Iweala’s nomination
has raised concerns among Nigerians in the diplomatic and international
development circle.
Overwhelming support, stiff opposition
Earlier, in its
reaction to the replacement of Mr Agah for the top job, Egypt opposed Nigeria’s
substitution and sought the country’s disqualification from the AU endorsement
process.
The Egyptian
government argued that the new nomination of Mrs Okonjo-Iweala came well after
the due dates and that she was not one of the three candidates considered and
shortlisted in the period stipulated.
Egypt, in a memo
circulated in Addis Ababa, requested the AU to “officially inform the African
Group” that Nigeria has no candidate and so “Abdulhameed Mamdouh of the Arab
Republic of Egypt and Eloi Laourou of the Republic of Benin are currently the
only two endorsed African candidates” in the race.
The north African
country also hinted at consultations with Benin towards a consensus candidate.
But the nomination
of Mrs Okonjo-Iweala received a boost last week as Republic of Benin withdrew
its nomination in support of Nigeria’s nominee for the job.
Benin’s decision to
withdraw its nominee was revealed in a letter addressed to the Permanent
Mission of the Republic of Benin to the United Nations Office and other
International Organisations based in Geneva, Switzerland on Friday.
In her two-page letter,
Benin informed the Permanent Missions of the Member States of the International
Organisation of La Francophonie (01F) at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in
Geneva of its decision to withdraw its candidate, Eloi Laourou.
Hurdles
Indications, however,
emerged Tuesday that there are more hurdles for the former finance minister to
cross in actualising her dream of clinching the WTO top job.
This came against
the background of the position of the Office of the Legal Counsel of the
African Union, communicated to the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Nigeria
to the African Union in Addis Ababa.
The counsel referred
to its Note verbal 150/2020 dated 09 June 2020 demanding the immediate review
of the opinion of the Office of the Legal of the AUC, shared at the meeting of
the ministerial committee on candidatures held at the level of the ambassadors
on June 4.
The counsel noted
that in July 2019, the Executive Council during its Thirty Fifth Ordinary
Session held in Niamey, Niger, called on the AU member States to consider
presenting candidates to the AU Ministerial Committee on Candidatures in the
International System for the position of WTO Director General by November 30,
2019, with a view to endorse one candidate during the February 2020 Ordinary
Session.
He said the
development prompted Benin, Egypt and Nigeria to submit their candidatures
namely, Eloi Laourou, Abdulhameed Mamdouh and Yunov Agah.
“During the February
2020 Summit, the three candidates were considered,” the counsel said. “However,
due to the lack of consensus to agree on one suitable candidate during the
February 2020 Summit, the Executive Council through decision Ex Cl 1090 (XXXVI)
recalled the Ex Cl Dec 10T2 (XXXV) and endorsed respectively the candidates
from Benin, Egypt and Nigeria as short listed for the post of the Director
General of the WTO (the names of the candidates were incorporated in the Report
of the Committee on International Candidatures presented to the Executive
Council).
“Moreover, it
requested the Ministerial Committee on African Candidatures within the
International System to consider the matter and report to the Executive
Council’s 3rd Ordinary Session with a view to agreeing on a single candidate.”
Commenting on the
appropriateness or otherwise of Mrs Okonjo-Iweala’s nomination, the counsel
noted that the submission of the candidates shall be in line with certain
stipulated conditions. It referenced rules 11 (1,2,3) and 12 of the Rules of
Committee.
“All candidatures
shall be submitted to the Committee, through the AU C0mmission (The Political
Affairs Department). The Political Affairs Department should acknowledge
receipt containing the date and the stamp of submission,” it said.
“Candidatures shall
be submitted to the Commission at least two (2) months prior to the Sessions of
the Executive Council, which shall consider them. The submission shall be
accompanied by relevant information related to the submitted candidatures,
including the nature of each post, date and place of elections,” it added.
Furthermore, the
counsel argued that the rules state that the Committee may accept candidatures
submitted after the deadline “only when no other candidatures for the position
have been submitted in the prescribed time; the submission of candidatures has
been closed; and there are more vacancies reserved for Africa than the
submissions received, among others”.
The counsel
therefore argued in its position that the nomination of Mrs Okonjo-Iweala
contravened extant rules, specifically rules 11 and 12.
Optimism
While the AU faults
her nomination, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) named Mrs Okonjo-Iweala
among the three candidates “whose nominations have so far been accepted” to vie
for the top position.
The WTO’s General
Council Chair, David Walker of New Zealand, announced the shortlist.
The chair said Mrs
Okonjo-Iweala would be squaring up against the Mexican representative, Jesús
Seade Kuri, and Abdel-Hamid Mamdouh of Egypt.
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