By Oludare Mayowa
Akinwunmi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank (AfDB) was on Tuesday sworn-in for the second term of five years in office on Tuesday. The ceremony was, however, conducted virtually and broadcast online due to the covid-19 protocol.
The oath of office was administered by the Chairperson of the continental lender Board of Governors, who also is Ghana’s Finance Minister, Kenneth Ofori-Attah.
Adesina, Nigeria’s former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, was re-elected on August 27, after getting a 100 percent vote of all regional and non-regional members of the Bank.
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His election was a triumph over some sort over the initial intrigues by the United States (US) President Donald Trump to thwart his re-election after raising dust over unproven allegations of impropriety against Adesina by some unidentified whistleblowers.
The AfDB president was accused of a number of misconducts ranging from nepotism to financial recklessness, but the ethic committee of the board set up to probe the allegations exonerate him of all charges.
However, the US, which is the largest non-regional shareholders of the bank, called for an independent probe of the allegations against Adesina because the American president believed that the ethics committee did not do a thorough work.
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The board later set up an independent panel to review the reports of the ethics committee and also found Adesina innocent of all the allegations against him.
he independent panel, set up after the United States insisted on a review of the finding of the ethics committee was led by a former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson, which also had Justice Hassan B Jallow and Leonard F McCarthy as members.
His victory over the gang-up by some element who were opposed to his second term was further cemented when he received 100 percent votes of regional and non-regional shareholders of the lender last week for a second term tenure during the bank’s annual meeting.
The overwhelming support from his home country Nigeria and other African countries over his travail was a testimony of the strength of his personal character and the level of appreciation of his work at the continental bank.
Adesina, an economist, was first elected as President of the Bank on May 28, 2015 after his term as Nigeria’s minister of Agriculture under the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan. He became the first Nigerian to be elected and re-elected to serve as the bank’s President.
The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Heads of States, Governors, and external stakeholders, according to a statement from the bank.
During Adesina’s first term, the Bank achieved impactful results on the lives of 335 million Africans, including: 18 million people with access to electricity; 141 million people benefiting from improved agricultural technologies for food security; 15 million people benefiting from access to finance from private investments; 101 million people provided with access to improved transport; and 60 million people gaining access to water and sanitation.
“The Bank has maintained its AAA-ratings by all major global credit rating agencies for five years in a row. The Board of Governors of the Bank Group approved a 125% increase in the General Capital of the Bank, raising its capital from $93 billion to $208 billion, the largest in the history of the Bank
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“The African Development Fund received a $7.6 billion pledge from donors, a 32% increase, for support to low-income countries and fragile states. The Bank was ranked the 4th most transparent institution globally by Publish What You Fund, bolstering its strong governance credentials for transparency and accountability.
“The African Development Bank’s Board of Directors approved a $10 billion facility to support African countries to address the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bank also launched a $3 billion COVID-19 social bond on the global capital markets, the highest US dollar-denominated social bond ever in world history, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, Luxembourg Stock Exchange and NASDAQ,” the statement added.
