Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has called on the World Trade Organization (WTO) to redress the anomalies in the WTO agreements and formulate policies which would stimulate growth and poverty alleviation in developing countries.

The trade policies and balances have been in favor of developed countries, Obasanjo said in Abuja Tuesday when opening a national seminar on "the implications of WTO agreements on the Nigerian economy".

The president told the three-day seminar that there are significant imbalances between rights and obligations in the existing multilateral trade agreements for the developing countries, and the lack of full liberalization in economic sectors of the developed countries.

In spite of liberalization, exports from developing countries continue to face both tariff and non-tariff barriers, Obasanjo said, adding that special provisions have turned to endeavor clauses due to lack of adherence by developed countries.

"Inequalities brought about by globalization have made poverty pervasive as more countries experience increased disadvantages within the global economy," media reports Wednesday quoted Obasanjo as saying.

He said that the adoption of structural reforms and macro-economic measures had not yielded commensurate growth and development for developing countries.

The Nigerian president threatened to withdraw the nation's membership of the WTO if the developed countries fail to urgently address the issue of widening gap between them and the developing countries.

Nigeria, which signed the WTO agreements in 1995, is pushing for the country's re-negotiations of terms ahead of the WTO meeting in Seattle, the United States, later this month.

Since the establishment of the WTO in 1995, the developing countries including Nigeria continued to face a number of old problems including " endemic poverty and malnutrition, an over-bearing external debt burden, inadequate resources, low commodity prices, unfavorable terms of trade, trade barriers and new forms of protectionism".

"Without doubt, all these problems represent significant handicaps that not only affect the development process, but also contribute to widening the gap between developed and developing countries," he said.