Other candidates for the office, Colombia's Jose Antonio Ocampo and America's Jim Yong Kim would also be interviewed next week, after which a final choice would be released and a formal announcement expected almost immediately, according to an inside source at the Bank.
The directors who are expected to determine who will be the next President of the Bank, are said to be under intense moral pressure on how to proceed with the selection, especially since the Bank had earlier committed to a process that would be not only both transparent, and merit-based, but also determined by consensus.
An informed source said on Monday that while the American candidate, Jim Yong Kim may readily have the upper hand considering the support from the US, European Union and Japan, the increasing international endorsement of Nigeria's Okonjo-Iweala is creating what is seen as a moral crisis for the World Bank board.
The public consensus according to several informed watchers of the race is that Okonjo-Iweala is leading and is the candidate best suited for the job. Both The Economist and the London Financial Times have endorsed her and even the New York Times in an editorial late last week asked the US not to overlook her candidacy. Although Japan is said to be backing the US nominee, some newspapers in the Asian continent including from India and Japan, are rooting for Nigeria's candidate.
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