TheCable

Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), is set to be announced as the winner of the eighth presidential election of the bank.

Adesina is unopposed in the election that is holding virtually as the bank’s annual meeting holds in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

The election result is expected to be announced by Niale Kaba, chairperson of the bureau of the board of governors, at 1:30pm.

Bashir Ahmad, an aide to President Muhammadu Buhari, has already congratulated Adesina on winning the election.

“Nigeria’s Akinwumi Adesina has been re-elected as the president of the African Development Bank (AfDB). With this re-election, he will spend another five years supervising the affairs of the bank,” Ahmad tweeted.

Nigeria’s Dr. Akinwumi Adesina has been re-elected as the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB). With this re-election, he will spend another 5 years supervising the affairs of the Bank. Congratulations! 🇳🇬🎊 pic.twitter.com/JSMdAThKE8

— Bashir Ahmad (@BashirAhmaad) August 27, 2020

Advertisement

In 2015, Adesina became the first Nigerian to occupy the seat and has spent five years as the helmsman of the bank.

His re-election bid was threatened by whistleblower allegations that accused him of favouritism but he was cleared of all allegations by the bank’s ethics committee and an independent review team led by Mary Robinson, a former Irish president, endorsed the committee’s process.