Nigeria’s former Coordinating Minister for the Economy and the World Trade Organization (WTO) DG hopeful, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has been named Forbes Africa Person of the Year 2020.
Okonjo-Iweala, who was also Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, is the first Nigerian woman to bag the prestigious award; and the second Nigerian to be recognized in a space of one year.
In a tweet on its official handle @forbesafrica on Tuesday, Forbes Africa said: “The 2020 #AfricanOftheYear Award honoree is…Congratulations to Dr. @NOlweala! Board Chair @Gavi; Board Chair @ARCapicity, gracing the cover of @forbesafrica.”
Responding, the former minister said that she was thrilled to be honoured and to be following the footsteps of Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Nigeria’s Femi Adesina.
“Thrilled to be named @forbesafrica-CNBC 2020 African of the Year following in the footsteps of my great Brothers @PaulKagame and @akin_adesina”, she said.
She added: “This award is for fellow Africans suffering the health & economic impact of Covid19. The energy and resilience of Africans inspire me.”