Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has thanked the leadership of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) and the students of the first generation tertiary institution for the honour of being chosen to deliver the Pre-Convocation Lecture, and the day after, being awarded the Doctor of Science, Honoris Causa.
The title of the Lecture delivered on Friday, January 30, 2026, by Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, a former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, as well as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria, was “Challenges and Opportunities for Africa and Nigeria in the Present Global Geopolitical and Geostrategic Context.”
She was conferred with the Honorary Doctorate Award during the Convocation ceremony on Saturday, January 31, 2026.
In a post on her X (former Twitter) platform, the one-time Managing Director of the World Bank and globally celebrated economist thanked “the Chancellor of the University, His Majesty, Obi of Onitsha, Nnaemeka Alfred Ugochukuwu Achebe; the Chair of the Governing Council, Alhaji Mahmud Yayale Ahmed; the Vice Chancellor, Prof Adamu Ahmed; faculty and staff – but most of all (to) the students for a rousing welcome.”
The Pre-Convocation Lecture and the Convocation ceremonies were both held on the University’s Zaria campus and attracted dignitaries from all over the world, including The Rt Reverend Justin Welby, the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury.
