The African Union (AU) has clarified that it was yet to agree on a consensus candidate for the position of Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
AU made the announcement in a statement on Tuesday.
“As at present, there is no African Union endorsed candidate for this post,” it declared.
The body said the AU Commission, under the guidance of its ministerial committee, had made concerted efforts towards the endorsement of a single candidate.
It explained that due to circumstances beyond its control, the committee could not meet on three scheduled dates to decide on a consensus candidate.
The position contradicts claims by the candidate from Egypt, Abdel-Hamid Mamdouh.
At a press conference in Geneva, Mamdouh said he had been endorsed by the union.
Reacting, the Nigerian Permanent Mission to the UN, affirmed that the process of endorsing one candidate was still ongoing.
“This has put to rest claims that a particular candidate has been endorsed by the AU, therefore, rendering other African candidates illegitimate,” it said.
Apart from Mamdouh, other African candidates are Nigeria’s former Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and Amina Mohamed of Kenya.
The rest are Jesús Seade Kuri (Mexico), Tudor Ulianovschi (Moldova), Yoo Myung-hee (Republic of Korea), Mohammad Maziad Al-Tuwaijri (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) and Liam Fox (United Kingdom)
