Dr, Akinwumi Adesina has been re-elected as the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) by the board of governors of the bank.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that the former Nigerian Agriculture Minister was re-elected for another five-year term on Thursday during a virtual extraordinary annual general meeting of the bank in Cote d’ivoire.
Adesina, who was first elected as AfDB President in 2015, emerged unopposed despite the United States insisting that he must be investigated for corruption claims made by a whistleblower.
The former minister denied any wrongdoing and was also cleared of all allegations on multiple occasions.
On Wednesday, Adesina had made a last-minute pitch for his re-election as head of the institution, saying that he wanted to fulfill “his sense of duty and commitment.”
Adesina recalled that his current five-year term as head of the bank was marked by the implementation of five strategic priorities for the continent’s development, known as the “High 5s.”
He said: “At this Annual Meetings, I offer myself to you, our Governors, for your consideration for election for a second term, as President,” Adesina told the governors on the first day of the AfDB’s annual general meetings on Wednesday.
“I do so, with humility. I do so with a strong sense of duty and commitment and a call to serve Africa and our Bank, selflessly, to the very best of my God-given abilities.”
