Nigeria’s former finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala named member of Twitter board

Twitter has announced Nigeria’s former finance minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as a member of its board of directors.

Okonjo-Iweala, was a former senior World Bank official and served as minister of finance in the administration of Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. She was named alongside American lawyer Robert Zoellick to the social media platform’s board, the company announced Thursday.

“We are confident they will be incredible assets to Twitter as we continue to focus on driving transparency and making Twitter a safer, healthier place for everyone who uses our service,” Twitter’s Executive Chairman Omid Kordestani said.

Making the announcement, Kordestani said: “Ngozi and Bob are distinguished leaders with unparalleled global perspective and policy expertise “We are confident they will be incredible assets to Twitter as we continue to focus on driving transparency and making Twitter a safer, healthier place for everyone who uses our service.”

Okonjo-Iweala responded to the appointment in a tweet:

Excited to work with @Jack and an incredible team on the Board of Twitter, a global platform that is such a strong connector of people and ideas.

— Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (@NOIweala) 19 July 2018

As we strive to build a better world for tomorrow, Twitter can amplify messages and drive critical conversations around today’s most important issues.
I look forward to partnering with Twitter’s talented directors and leadership team as we work to leverage the power of Twitter for good.”

On his part, Zoellick stated: “I’m honored to join a company as purposeful as Twitter. “Twitter has made meaningful progress in expanding and encouraging global dialogue and creativity on its platform, and I’m privileged to work with Jack, Omid and the rest of the board to continue the strong momentum underway.

Twitter has over 336 million users and is gaining widespread popularity among Africans who use it to amplify their concerns and create online communities.