Uche Usim, Abuja
The coast is getting clearer for Dr Akinwumi Adesina to serve a second term as the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) following his endorsement by the Executive Council members of the African Union.
The decision was taken during the 36th Ordinary Session of the AU Executive Council held during the AU Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 6th to 7th of February.
Adesina was elected to his first term as President by the Bank’s Board of Governors at its Annual Meetings in Abidjan on 28 May 2015. He is the eighth President of the African Development Bank Group and the first Nigerian in the post.
During his first term, the bank’s shareholders approved a landmark $115 billion capital increase in late October. The increase in the capital base, from $93 billion to $208 billion, signalled strong support from the Board of Governors in the continent’s foremost financial institution.
Adesina is a renowned development economist who has held a number of high-profile international positions, including with the Rockefeller Foundation, and as Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development from 2011 to 2015.
The African Union Executive Council comprises 55 ministers of foreign affairs representing the member states of the African Union.
In December 2019, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) also endorsed Adesina for a second term as Bank chief. The election will again take place at the bank’s annual meetings in May in Abidjan.
President Muhammadu Buhari has also given his blessings.