Iweala to return as Nigeria finance minister

ABUJA: Former World Bank managing director Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala will arrive back in Nigeria to be sworn in as finance minister this week, the presidency said on Sunday, a month after the rest of President Goodluck Jonathan's cabinet was announced.

Okonjo-Iweala, who has held the finance portfolio before, flew to Nigeria to be screened by the Senate for a position in Jonathan's cabinet last month, but then returned to Washington to finish her work with the World Bank.

"I can confirm that the finance minister will resume duties this week," presidential spokesman, Reuben Abati, told reporters at the presidential villa.

Jonathan was sworn in for his first full term on May 29 and named the majority of his cabinet more than a month later. Okonjo-Iweala would be the most high-profile member of his team and key to the future of Africa's third-largest economy.

Sources close to the process say Okonjo-Iweala has negotiated for an expanded role, likely to be Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance.

She held the finance minister position between 2003 and 2006 when she successfully secured Nigerian debt relief.

Africa's most populous nation faces a long list of hurdles, not least opaque government spending, rampant corruption, import dependence, and the need to tame double-digit inflation while creating jobs and building infrastructure.

Okonjo-Iweala said last week Nigeria needed to make fundamental changes to diversify its economy, to reduce its over-reliance on crude oil exports.

During her previous tenure she stepped on some toes and investors are watching closely to see how she operates alongside an existing set of reformers, including the influential Central Bank Governor Lamido Sanusi.

Copyright Reuters, 2011