Just In: Nigeria’s Akinwumi Adesina Emerge AfDB President For A Second Term

Daily Metro News NG

Nigerian born foremost banker, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina has been re-elected for a second term of five years as the President of the African Development Bank.

The electronic election took place on Thursday during the virtual annual general meeting of the bank.

According to Lespanafricaines report, Adesina was reelected on Thursday as a sole candidate to lead the 56-year-old bank on the path of progress which it has witnessed over time.

The African bank head, Adesina had on Wednesday appealed for a second term in office after months battle over alleged corrupt practices and poor governance that was cleared in an independent probe into the allegation.

In a speech at the AfDB’s annual meetings, Adesina formally requested for a second term as president, declaring that he was doing it with an acute sense of duty and commitment.

According to a statement issued by the bank, Adesina said; “I do it to serve Africa and our bank, in an unbiased way, to the best of the abilities that God has given me.”

Adesina, was the first Nigerian to head the bank after he win in 2015, AfDB is one of the world’s five biggest multilateral lenders and an important but often unseen player in economic development.

Adesina gained continent-wide recognition last October when the AfDB secured $115 billion (105 billion euros) in funding pledges, a move that doubled its capital and cemented its triple-A credit rating.

The AfDB has estimated that the continent could lose at least $173.1 billion in GDP in 2020 and $236.7 billion in 2021 as a result of the economic fallout from the COVID-19 crisis.

The bank has moved swiftly in response, setting up a coronavirus funding mechanism in April of up to $10 billion.

The number of shareholders in the AfDB rose to 81, Adesina said, with the admission of Ireland. Fifty-four shareholders are African, while the others are from the Americas, Asia and Europe.