The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, expressed her sadness regarding the level of disunity in Nigeria. She addressed the issue through her verified Twitter handle, clarifying that she did not snub Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu, during the recent Summit for a New Global Financing Pact in Paris, France.
While participating in the summit, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala shared photographs on social media, including those with African Presidents such as Senegal’s Macky Sall, South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa, and Zambia’s Hakainde Hichilema. However, social media users in Nigeria, particularly supporters of Peter Obi, claimed that she intentionally excluded President Tinubu from the photos.
As a result, supporters of President Tinubu responded with counterclaims and criticisms without verifying the accuracy of the allegations. In response, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala posted more photographs from the summit, this time including President Tinubu, Nigerian businessman Tony Elumelu, and others. She explained that the order of posting the photos was based on the order in which she received them from her staff and colleagues.
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala emphasized that ascribing ulterior motives to her actions was unnecessary and called for unity and an end to the attacks. She highlighted the polarization in Nigerian society and urged citizens to focus on building the country rather than engaging in divisive confrontations.