Nigeria�s Okonjo-Iweala Will Not Get World Bank Job - Dr. Joe Abbey

An Economist and Executive Director of the Center for Policy Analysis (CEPA), Dr Joe Abbey, has predicted that Nigeria�s candidate for the top World Bank job will not get the nod. The position will become vacant after the current boss, Robert Zoellick, steps down in June. Since its conception, the World Bank has been run by a US national. However, in a bid to change the trend and gain more influence some developing countries such as South Africa and Angola have nominated the Nigeria Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, for the top job. She is battling the position with Jim Yong Kim, a Korean-American and a former Finance Minister of Colombia, Jose Antonio Ocampo. Dr Abbey told Citi Business News it is not likely the West African will get the nod. �The reality is that once the Americans have made a nomination of someone who has the credentials of being WHO worker as from South Korea, I�m sorry, the tradition will hold and it is the US nominee that will win,� he declared. Dr. Abbey said that as a matter of principle, it was prudent for Ghana to pledge its support for Okonjo-Iweala, although she may not win.