VOICE AIR MEDIA News Update

THE immediate former Finance Minister, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed has got the job of World Bank as Alternate Executive Director.

Barring hitches, she will rejoin the bank’s headquarters in Washington on July 10.

However, it appears to have been opposed by some stakeholders who alleged that due process was not followed by the former minister.

An online medium today quoted sources in Washington as saying Mrs Ahmed bypassed the appointment process by nominating herself.

The report also stated that the World Bank had requested the nomination of three economists for the AED position, several months before the end of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, but the minister kept the letter to himself.

It was also alleged that the minister had neither obtained the approval of President Buhari nor the approval of the new President, Senator Bola Tinubu, for his own nomination.

However, a highly placed source in the federal government familiar with the World Bank system told Vanguard that Mrs. Ahmed had done nothing wrong in the appointment.

According to the formula, “It is impossible (for him to nominate himself). And he didn’t do that. He was validly nominated by the Ministry of Finance and President Buhari approved his nomination before he left.

“This type of nomination is routine as the former DG Budget was nominated during the Jonathan administration and no one made a fuss about it. This is really unfair.

“Former DG Budget was named as Executive Director of the African Development Bank.”

The source pointed out that the AED post is usually occupied by a former finance minister (the World Bank governor) or a permanent secretary in the federal finance ministries (the World Bank’s alternate governor).

They said,

“Also, please note that the ED of South Africa was a former South African minister. The position is for either a former Finance Minister (Governor World Bank) or Permanent Secretary Finance (Alternate Governor World Bank), i.e. someone familiar with development policy issues and the transfer of real resources to developing countries.

“And those who understand the issues of the Executive Board of the World Bank and who have helped in the decision-making of the World Bank in the recent past from the point of view of the officers/member countries.

“This is not a position for theoretical economists who have no dealings with the finance ministry of sovereign member states.

Mrs Ahamed is expected to work under former South African minister Ayanda Drlondlo, who is the executive director.