Jobless Nigerians ask Yale to withdraw Okonjo-Iweala’s award

Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Some Nigerians have called on Yale University in the United States to withdraw the Honorary Degree it bestowed on the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

Okonjo-Iweala had been awarded Doctor of Humane Letters by the prestigious institution on May 15, 2015.

The institution, while presenting the award to Okonjo-Iweala, had said, “As a minister in your country, you made social and economic reforms your mission. As Nigeria’s coordinating minister of economic development and minister of finance, you have tackled corruption, created a vision and path to long-term economic stability, and worked to build a culture of transparency.”

However, a Nigerian, Sunday Iwalaiye, on Wednesday started an online petition on Change.Org, urging Nigerians to also sign the petition.

Checks by our correspondent showed that 22 hours after the petition was created, 2,500 people had signed it.