Oby Ezekwesili makes PRIO’s shortlist for 2018 Nobel Peace Prize ‘for making the world less corrupt’

Oby Ezekwesili, former vice-president of the World Bank and co-founder of Transparency International (TI), made PRIO’s final shortlist for the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize.

PRIO is the Peace Research Institute, Oslo, whose director has the power to nominate distinguished peace advocates to the Nobel Committee for consideration.

Nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize is taken from certain individuals holding positions set forth in Alfred Nobel’s testament. They include current and former members of the Nobel committee, Peace Prize laureates, directors of peace research institutes, such as PRIO.

For 2018, Henrik Urdal, the director of PRIO, put out his final shortlist for the highly-coveted prize, which included the names of Nigeria’s former minister of solid minerals, and the eventual winners of the 2018 award.

Henrik Urdal’s 2018 Nobel Peace Prize Shortlist

1. World Food Programme
2. Dr. Denis Mukwege, Nadia Murad & Tarana Burke
3. SOS Méditerranée, Doctors Without Borders & International Rescue Committee
4. Oby Ezekwesili & The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
5. Reporters Without Borders

Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad were the eventual winners of the 113-year-old prize, for their fight against sexual violence as a weapon of war.

According to Urdal, “Oby Ezekwesili, former Minister of Education in Nigeria and Vice President for Africa in the World Bank and one of the founders of Transparency International, has been an international champion in the fight against corruption”.

“Ezekwesili was also the Federal Minister of Solid Minerals and the Chairperson of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), leading the first ever national implementation of the global EITI standards.

“Ezekwesili and EITI are worthy candidates because of their efforts in making the world more transparent and less corrupt.

“This important work by individuals and organizations like Ezekwesili and EITI is deserving of attention, and a Nobel Peace Prize to the field of anti-corruption and transparency would be a welcome boost now that key actors such as the U.S. have abandoned the EITI by the wayside.”

The institute, however, adds that, despite having a former employee on the Nobel committee, PRIO nor its director, does not nominate or in any way influence the decision of the committee.

The Nobel Committee does not release the list of nominees — it announces only the eventual winners.