World Bank managing director Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala appeared before Nigeria's Senate on Wednesday to be screened by lawmakers for a possible position in President Goodluck Jonathan's new administration. Government sources have said Okonjo-Iweala, a respected former finance minister who helped negotiate debt relief in 2005, could return to her old position but with additional broad powers over economic management.
The World Bank said late on Tuesday that Okonjo-Iweala remained in her current position at the development lender and was in talks with Jonathan. Jonathan was sworn in for his first full term on May 29 and his ministerial choices are being closely watched by Nigerians and foreign investors keen for a team capable of driving badly needed reforms in Africa's most populous nation.
His nominees are first screened by the security services before being quizzed by lawmakers as part of the approval process. Jonathan has already reappointed 12 ministers from the outgoing government to their old jobs, including oil minister Deziani Alison-Madueke, a move his critics saw as an uninspiring start. The inclusion of Okonjo-Iweala in the cabinet could lend more weight to his reform ambitions.
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