Tinubu committed to helping Nigerians alleviate the difficult conditions they are in – Okonjo-Iweala

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), has emphasized that President Bola Tinubu is firmly dedicated to enhancing the well-being of Nigerians.

Furthermore, she confirmed that the WTO, an organization she leads, is committed to providing assistance to Nigeria during these challenging times.

Okonjo-Iweala made these statements while addressing State House correspondents following her meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Tuesday, August 7.

Accompanied by Mohammed Ali Pate, the former Minister of State for Health during the Goodluck Jonathan administration, the WTO DG revealed that their conversation with the President focused on strategies to extend support to Nigeria.

She said; “We want to help them in digital trade, so they can create more jobs. We saw the President and the focus was on how do we support Nigerians at this time of need.

“We all know that things are very difficult for Nigerians outside, everyone is struggling. I’m here on a quiet visit. So this was not really an official WTO mission but we’re able to engage with the President, talk about what are the kinds of programmes that could be put in place to make sure the suffering of Nigerians are being alleviated.

“We had a really good conversation on trying to look at the community and grassroots programmes that can be put in place to create jobs for young people, trying to support women and children, who are bearing the brunt of some of the suffering in the country.

“We talked about how for the longer term, we need to do that investment opportunities that Nigeria can seize, including the pharmaceutical industry.

“We also talked about what type of support the World Trade Organization can bring. We’re already working in Nigeria with women in particular, who own small and medium enterprises to try to help them upgrade the quality of their products.

’Whether it’s in the agricultural area, in textiles and in other areas so that they can sell more internationally.
“We’re trying to help them with digital trade. So how do we train and empower Nigerian women and owners of small and medium enterprises so that they can trade more and create more jobs?

“So that is what’s needed now, helping Nigerians to alleviate the difficult conditions that they are in. That is what we discussed with the President and as the Director General of the World Trade Organization, we are going to try to do the most we can to support Nigerians at this particular time.’’