Akinwunmi Adesina sworn-in for second term as African Development Bank president

NIGERIA's former agriculture minister Dr Akinwunmi Adesina has been sworn-in for a second term in office as the president of the African Development Bank (AfDB) after recently being elected unopposed.

Dr Adesina was re-elected on August 27, after getting a 100% vote of all regional and non-regional members of the Bank. a globally renowned development economist, he was first elected as president on May 28, 2015 and is the first Nigerian ever to be elected and re-elected to serve as the bank’s president.

Earlier today, his swearing-in ceremony was held virtually and broadcast online, meaning Dr Adesina will serve for another five years. Kenneth Ofori-Attah, the chairperson of the AfDB board of governors and Ghana’s finance minister, administered the oath of office.

Today's ceremony was attended by heads of states, governors, and external stakeholders. During Dr Adesina’s first term, the AfDB achieved impactful results on the lives of 335m Africans, providing 18m people with access to electricity, allowing 141m people to benefit from improved agricultural technologies for food security, 15m people gained access to finance from private investments, 101m people were provided with access to improved transport and 60m people gained access to water and sanitation.

Among other things, the AfDB has maintained its AAA-ratings by all major global credit rating agencies for five years in a row. Its board of governors approved a 125% increase in the general capital of the bank, raising its capital from $93bn to $208bn, the largest in its history.

An AfDB spokesman said: “The African Development Fund received a $7.6bn pledge from donors, a 32% increase, for support to low-income countries and fragile states. The bank was ranked the fourth 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 $10bn facility to support African countries to address the Covid-19 pandemic. The bank also launched a $3bn 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.”

Currently Africa’s premier development finance institution, the AfDB comprises of 54 regional and 27 non-regional member countries.  Nigeria is the bank's largest shareholder.