By Editor
Director General, World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, yesterday expressed dismay over the recent abductions of pupils and teachers in Kaduna and Sokoto States, calling on security authorities to rise to the occasion and ensure their immediate recovery.
Okonjo-Iweala, who said the abductions were saddening, particularly urged the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu to do everything possible to ensure the safe return of all the missing persons.
Speaking in Abuja at the launch of the 2024 Technical Assistance and Trade Support programmes for Nigeria, which was an initiative of the WTO, World Bank, and International Trade Center (ITC), she said the abductions were particularly worrisome realising that education remained key to creating economic opportunities for the people.
She said, “It’s always wonderful to be back home in Nigeria. But I must confess that while I am happy, I am also sad. I am sad because I am here at a time when once more hundreds of our school children and teachers have been abducted, as a mother, grandmother, educator and someone for whom education is paramount for creating economic opportunity, I am very sad and with the representative of my brother, the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu here, I hope he can be able to recover them very soon in Kaduna and Sokoto.
