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World Bank Presidency: Who Wins?
With the withdrawal of Colombian ex-finance minister, Jose Antonio Ocampo, from the World Bank Presidency race last Friday, the die is now cast between Dr. Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria and Jim Yong Kim, a Korean-American.
Kim is backed by US, Europe and Japan which control about 54 percent of the votes. From the look of things, the deal has been sealed by Europe and US with the support of Japan and Canada. But the rest of the world whose finance ministers and Central Bank governors will meet over the issue have the rest of the votes.
Brazil, India, Russia, China and South Africa are considering block votes for their own candidate, Dr Okonjo Iweala. This thinking was what probably informed the decision of Ocampo to withdraw from the race to brighten Okonjo-Iweala’s chance.
With the board of the World Bank meeting today in Washington DC, to pick a new president, Ocampo said he hoped emerging-market nations would rally behind Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in a race he said had turned highly political.
Okonjo-Iweala, a former World Bank Managing Director, is now the sole candidate from developing nations in a race against U.S. nominee Jim Yong Kim, a Korean-American health expert who appears almost certain to secure the post by block votes from US, Europe and Japan.
Ocampo, who was nominated by Brazil, said his candidacy had been “handicapped” by a lack of support from his own country. Colombia said last month it was focusing on a bid for the presidency of the International Labor Organization, where it had a greater chance of success.
If Dr Okonjo Iweala does not win, it is not because she is not the right person but because of international politics involved in the process of selecting the World Bank President which often times sacrifices merit on the altar of international political alignments.
Ocampo puts it clearly thus: “It is clear that the process is shifting from a strict merit-based competition, in which my candidacy stood on strong grounds, into a more political-oriented exercise. In this process, I stand on weaker grounds due to the lack of open support from the government of my home country, Colombia.”
Ocampo, the director of economic and political development at Columbia University in New York, said he did not believe the selection process had been conducted in a fully open, transparent and merit-based fashion, but it had established a strong precedent.
If the process is not transparent, what signal is America and Europe which claim to champion merit-based appointments in a democratic system sending to the rest of the world? What morals will the US and the rest of advanced democracy have against those they call despots in other parts of the world?
What right will America and Europe have to condemn flawed election in Africa? Will this show of naked power weaken the World Bank? Will developing and emerging economies muster courage to ask the West to take their World Bank and set up something for themselves?
However, Ocampo’s decision to leave the race does not mean all developing countries will support Okonjo-Iweala when the World Bank board tries to find a successor to Robert Zoellick, who is departing in June. Indeed, the promise of a united front from emerging markets evaporated on Friday when Russia said it would support Kim, becoming the first major emerging economy to do so.
Russia in a statement on Friday said: “Taking into account Mr. Kim’s considerable professional qualities, as well as his experience and knowledge, the Russian Federation will support the candidacy of Jim Yong Kim during the voting by the bank’s board of directors.”
Under an informal agreement, the World Bank has always been headed by an American and the International Monetary Fund by a European. Emerging-market nations have been seeking to challenge U.S. leadership at the bank to increase their influence in global economic institutions long dominated by rich nations.
While Kim is still the favourite to win the World Bank presidency due to backing from the United States and European countries, a rigorous challenge from developing countries could put them in a stronger position to extract concessions.
This challenge also increases their chances of winning senior jobs coming open in the next few months, including chief economist and head of the International Finance Corp, the World Bank’s private-sector lending arm.
Okonjo-Iweala thanked Ocampo and said his presence had helped to further a shared goal of an open selection process.
“I am proud that Dr. Ocampo and I have helped make history by changing the way World Bank presidential elections are contested,” she said in a statement.
Last week the Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank conducted interviews for the three nominated into the position. Dr. Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was first to be interviewed, followed by Jose Antinio Ocampo and Jim Yong Kim
Yong Kim is a US national and President of Dartmouth College, New Hampshire. The Korean-born Kim, 52, according to USA Today represents a break from the financiers and bureaucrats who have run the World Bank. This, Mr. Uri Dadush, director of international economics at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington and a former World Bank Director of economic policy says, is both strength and a weakness.
“This is a very smart man and has many of the characteristics that you would look for in a World Bank president. He is going to have a major challenge to overcome a characterisation as being too focused on the health and education agenda and to develop a deep understanding of the broader development agenda of the bank.”
Experts agree that Mr Kim lacks experience in boosting economic growth, a key part of the bank’s mission yet he is favoured to be selected today as the President of the World Bank. Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a Nigerian national and Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, 57, is a respected economist and diplomat, mother of four children. She has spent more than two decades in numerous positions at the World Bank.
Ordinarily, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala who until recently served as the Bank’s Managing Director would be expected by experience to pick up the job, but the President of the World Bank as described by Ocampo is made out of choice of convenience by the super powers.
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I’m Committed To Community Dev – Ajinwo
News
RSG Tasks Rural Dwellers On RAAMP …As Sensitization Team Visits Akulga, Degema, Three Others

Rivers State Head of Service, Dr (Mrs) Inyingi Brown, has called on rural communities in the State to embrace the Rural Access and Agricultural marketing project (RAAMP) with a view to improving their living conditions.
This follows the ongoing sensitization campaign by the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) visits to Degema, Abonnema, Afam headquarters of Degema, Akuku Toru and Oyigbo Etche and Omuma local government areas respectively.
Dr Brown who was represented by the Deputy Director, Special Duties in her office, Mrs Dein Akpanah, said RAAMP was initiated by the Federal Government and World Bank to economically empower rural dwellers.s
She said the World Bank understands the plights of rural farmers and traders in the State, and therefore came up with the programme to address them.
According to her, RAAMP will improve the conditions of farmers, traders and fishermen, and therefore, behoves on every rural communities in the State to embrace the programme.
The Head of Service also said the programme would support the youths to be gainfully employed while bridges and roads will be built to link farms and fishing settlements.
Also speaking, the State project coordinator, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the programme has the potential of creating millionaires among farmers and fishermen in the State.
Kpakol who was represented by Engr. Sam Tombari, said RAAMP would help farmers and fishermen to preserve their produce.
According to him, the project will build cold rooms and Silos for preservation of crops and fishes while access roads will also be created to link farmers and fishermen to the market.
He, however, warned them against any act that will lead to the suspension of the projects by the World Bank.
Kpakol particularly warned against acts such as kidnapping, marching ground, gender based violence and child labour, adding that such acts if they occur may lead to the cancellation of the project by the World Bank.
During the visit to Oyigbo local government area, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the team was there to let them know how they will benefit from the Raamp.
The coordinator who was personally at Oyigbo said the World Bank introduced the project to check food insecurity in the State.
He said already 19 states in Nigeria are already benefitting from the project and called on them to embrace the project.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in the three local government areas have commended the World Bank for including their areas in the project.
They, however, complained over the incessant attacks by pirates on their waterways.
At Degema, King Agolia of Ke kingdom said land was a major problem in the kingdom.
King Agolia represented by High Chief Alpheus Damiebi said many indigenes of the kingdom are willing to go into farming but are handicapped by lack of land.
Also at Degema, the representative of the Omu Onyam Ekeim of Usokun Degema kingdom, Osoabo Isaac, said Degema has embraced the programme but needed more information on the implementation of the programme.
Similarly, while High Chief Precious Abadi advised that the project should not be narrowed to only crop farming, a community women leader, Mrs Orikinge Eremabo Otto, called for the construction of cold rooms in all fishing settlements in the area.
At Abonnema, Mr Diamond Kio linked the problem of the area to incessant piracy along waterways.
He also expressed fears over the possibility of the project being hijacked by politicians.
Also at Abonnema, a stakeholder, Ikiriko Kelvin, called on the World Bank to design an agricultural project that will suit the riverine environment, while at Oyigbo, HRH Eze Boniface Akawo expressed satisfaction with the project.
John Bibor
News
Senate Replaces Natasha As Committee Chairman

The political mudslinging between the Senate leadership and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan continued yesterday as the Senate named Senator Aniekan Bassey as the new Chairman of the Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the appointment during yesterday’s plenary, confirming Bassey’s replacement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently on suspension.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was reassigned to the Diaspora and NGOs Committee in February after she was removed as Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Content during a minor reshuffle.
Bassey is the senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District.
Although no reason was given for her removal yesterday, the change is believed to be connected to her unresolved suspension.
In May, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court ordered her reinstatement and directed her to tender an apology to the Senate.
However, the Senate has insisted it has not received a certified true copy of the court judgment.
Akpoti-Uduaghan who represents Kogi Central, has yet to resume her legislative duties despite a recent court ruling that voided her suspension.
In a televised interview on Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan said she was awaiting the Certified True Copy of the judgment before officially returning to plenary, citing legal advice and respect for institutional process.
Although the Federal High Court described her suspension as “excessive and unconstitutional”, a legal opinion dated July 5 and attributed to the Senate’s counsel, Paul Daudu (SAN), argued that the ruling lacked any binding directive to enforce her reinstatement.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of only three female senators in the current assembly, said the continued delay in allowing her return was not only a denial of her mandate but also a blow to democratic representation.
“By keeping me out of the chambers, the Senate is not just silencing Kogi Central, it’s denying Nigerian women and children representation. We are only three female senators now, down from eight,” she said.
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