AfDB Pres. Adesina takes oath for second term

Per Second NewsSeptember 1, 2020255

Against all odds, victorious President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Nigeria’s Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, was on Tuesday sworn-in for second term of five years.

The Chairperson of the bank’s Board of Governors and Ghana’s Finance Minister, Mr Kenneth Ofori-Attah, administered the oath of office on Adesina at a virtual ceremony.

He was re-elected on August 27, 2020 after securing a 100 percent votes of all regional and non-regional members of the bank.

The global development economist was first elected as President on May 28, 2015 and he is the first Nigerian to be elected and re-elected.

Persecondnews recalls that Adesina shot into limelight when he served as Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development from 2011 and 2015 as he introduced novel farmers’ wallet, fertilizer policy among others.

The ceremony was attended by Heads of States, Governors, and external stakeholders, according to a statement from the bank.

On Adesina’s achievements in his first term, the Bank listed impactful results on the lives of 335 million Africans, including: 18 million people with access to electricity; 141 million people benefiting from improved agricultural technologies for food security; 15 million people benefiting from access to finance from private investments; 101 million people provided with access to improved transport; and 60 million people gaining access to water and sanitation.

The statement said: “The Bank has maintained its AAA-ratings by all major global credit rating agencies for five years in a row. The Board of Governors of the Bank Group approved a 125% increase in the General Capital of the Bank, raising its capital from $93 billion to $208 billion, the largest in the history of the Bank

“The African Development Fund received a $7.6 billion pledge from donors, a 32% increase, for support to low-income countries and fragile states. The Bank was ranked the 4th 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 $10 billion facility to support African countries to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The bank also launched a $3 billion 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.”