Former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari’s minister of finance, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, has been offered a prestigious role as an Alternate Executive Director (AED) at the World Bank.
Ahmed, who served under Buhari’s administration, is scheduled to begin her new position at the bank’s headquarters in Washington on July 10.
However, there are allegations from anonymous Washington sources cited by an online publication that Ahmed bypassed the proper appointment procedures by nominating herself for the position.
According to the report, the World Bank had requested the nomination of three economists for the AED position months before the end of Buhari’s presidency, but Ahmed kept the request letter to herself.
She allegedly did not seek approval from either Buhari or the newly elected President, Bola Tinubu, for her self-nomination.
In response to these claims, a reliable source within the Nigerian federal government, who is well-versed in the workings of the World Bank system, stated that Ahmed did not engage in any wrongdoing during the appointment process.
The source emphasized that it would have been impossible for her to nominate herself and clarified that Ahmed’s nomination was officially endorsed by the Ministry of Finance and approved by President Buhari before his departure.
The source pointed out that such nominations are routine, highlighting a similar situation during the Jonathan administration when a former Director General of the Budget Office was nominated as an Executive Director at the African Development Bank.
The source questioned the disproportionate criticism faced by Ahmed, asserting that the nomination process for the AED position is typically reserved for former Ministers of Finance (Governors of the World Bank) or Permanent Secretaries in the Federal Ministries of Finance (Alternative Governors of the World Bank).
Furthermore, the source highlighted that the Executive Director from South Africa was also a former South African Minister, emphasizing that the position requires individuals who possess a deep understanding of development policy matters and the allocation of resources to developing countries.
It is expected that they should have experience in shaping decision-making within the World Bank from the perspective of member countries’ authorities.
In essence, the AED role is not suitable for purely theoretical economists who lack practical experience in dealing with the Ministry of Finance in sovereign member countries. The position demands a thorough understanding of financial and economic matters within the context of real-world implementation.
