Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director-general (DG) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), has officially announced her intentions to seek another four-year term as head of the organisation.

Okonjo-Iweala announced her bid for a second term more than a month after 58 member countries supported a proposal from the African Group of WTO for her to head the organisation for another term.

The DG appreciated the support and said she would give her feedback to members soon.

In a statement to Reuters on Monday conveying her feedback, Okonjo-Iweala said she is ready to “compete”.

“I would like to be part of this chapter of the WTO story and I stand ready to compete for the position,” she said.

“For my second term, I intend to focus on delivering.”

She added that among the priorities were addressing “unfinished business”.

In 2020, the administration of former United States President Donald Trump blocked Okonjo-Iweala’s appointment – a move seen by some as an attack on an organisation he had previously described as “horrible”.

The United States said it favoured her opponent; South Korea’s Yoo Myung-hee, because the WTO needed “someone with real, hands-on experience in the field”.

However, on February 15, 2021, she secured US backing when Jeo Biden defeated Trump in the 2020 presidential election.

Speaking on the odds of getting limited chances if Trump wins the forthcoming election, she said, “I don’t focus on that because I have no control”.

Commenting on the job, the WTO chief admitted the job was difficult.

Okonjo-Iweala said the geopolitical tensions among WTO’s 166 members “was a significant challenge”.

“It is tough, you know, very tough. There’s no getting away from that. But it’s also a job that makes me want to get out of bed in the morning,” she added.

The current term of Okonjo-Iweala finishes at the end of August 2025 and is eligible for a second four-year term.

The former Nigerian minister assumed office as DG WTO on March 1, 2021, for a single term of four years.

Prior to her position at WTO, Okonjo-Iweala served twice as a minister of finance in Nigeria from 2003 to 2006 and from 2011 to 2015 and briefly acted as foreign minister in 2006.

Nigeria’s headline inflation rate dropped to 32.15 per cent for the month of August 2024, according to the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

This represents a 1.25% percentage point decrease from the 33.4 per cent recorded in July 2024 and the second consecutive monthly slowdown in inflation after easing in the previous month.

The NBS, in its Consumer Price Index report posted on its website on Monday, signals a slower pace in the increase of the average price level compared to the previous month.

The report read, “In August 2024, the headline inflation rate further eased to 32.15 per cent relative to the July 2024 headline inflation rate of 33.40 per cent.”

On a year-on-year basis, the August 2024 inflation rate was 6.35 percentage points higher than the 25.80 per cent rate recorded in August 2023, indicating a significant increase over the past year.

On a month-on-month basis, the inflation rate in August 2024 stood at 2.22 per cent, slightly lower than July’s rate of 2.28 per cent, signalling a slower pace in the increase of the average price level compared to the previous month.

It added that Food inflation was 37.52 per cent in August 2024, while Month-on-Month headline inflation was 2.22 per cent.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited says petrol will be sold at N950.22 per litre across all its retail outlets in Lagos.

In a social media post on Monday, the NNPC said the estimated pump price is based on prices set by the Dangote refinery for its petroleum products.

According to the price map shared by the NNPC, residents in the northern part of Nigeria will pay more for the product, with those in Borno expected to pay the highest petrol pump price of N1,019.22.

The commodity will be at N999.22 per litre in the federal capital territory (FCT), Abuja.

“The NNPC Ltd also wishes to state that, in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), PMS prices are not set by Government, but negotiated directly between parties on an arms length,” the NNPC said.

“The NNPC Ltd can confirm that it is paying Dangote Refinery in USD for September 2024 PMS offtake, as Naira transactions will only commence on October 1st, 2024. The NNPC Ltd assures that if the quoted pricing is disputed, it will be grateful for any discount from the Dangote Refinery, which will be passed on 100% to the general public.

“Attached to this statement are the estimated pump prices of PMS (obtained from the Dangote Refinery) across NNPC Retail Stations in the country, based on September 2024 pricing.”

On September 15, the NNPC commenced petrol lifting at the gantry of the refinery after a protracted period of price negotiations.

The development, touted as a panacea to Nigeria’s chronic supply challenges, followed the deployment of NNPC’s trucks to the refinery on September 14.

At the close of loading on Sunday, the NNPC had said it bought petrol from Dangote refinery at N898 per litre.

However, the Dangote refinery countered the claim, describing it as “both misleading and mischievous”.