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updated 10:20 AM UTC, Dec 13, 2023

Nigeria Stands By AfDB President, Akinwunmi Adesina, Re-Election Bid

Unic Press UK: Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari, has reiterated the nation’s support for Akinwumi Adesina, who is seeking a second term of office as the African Development Bank (AfDB) president.

Speaking yesterday when Adesina visited him in Aso rock, President Buhari said:

“In 2015, when you were to be elected for the first term, I wrote to all African leaders, recommending you for the position. I didn’t say because you were a People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Minister, and I belonged to the All Progressives Congress (APC), so I would withhold my support. I’ll remain consistent with you, because no one has faulted the step I took on behalf of Nigeria.”

Adesina’s likely re-election is being challenged by the United States in light of the country’s rejection of the AfDB Ethics Committee report that exonerated the AfDB president of wrongdoings in the face of allegations of preferential treatment, pursuit of personal gains, and engaging in political activities by whistleblowers.

Akinwumi Adesina

In his statement during his visit to President Buhari, the African Development Bank (AfDB) president, Adesina, said:

“My defense ran into 250 pages, and not a single line was faulted or questioned. The law says that report of the Ethics Committee should be transmitted to the Chairman of Governors of the bank. It was done, and the governors upheld the recommendations. That was the end of the matter, according to the rules. It was only if I was culpable that a fresh investigation could be launched. I was exonerated, and any other investigation would amount to bending the rules of the bank, to arrive at a predetermined conclusion.”

 

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