Nigeria’s Akinwumi Adesina has received the backing of the Government of Cote d’Ivoire to serve as the President of African Development Bank Group (AfDB) for a second term. Adesina’s first term, which started four years ago, will soon come to an end.
Cote d’Ivoire’s newly-appointed Economic and Financial Affairs Minister, Adama Koné, who will be working with Adesina as an administrator representing the francophone West African country, recently expressed support for Adesina’s second term bid.
This follows earlier commendations by the Ivorian President, Alassane Ouattara, who is very impressed with Adesina’s work and was even quoted as saying that “Adesina is doing an excellent job.” Note that Quottara’s commendation and Koné’s support are crucial, seeing as the AfDB is headquartered in Cote d’Ivoire.
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Admiration for Adesina is on the rise. He recently trended on Twitter after his pictures with some world leaders were circulated online. This made many Nigerians tip him as Nigeria’s next president. In the meantime, however, the only presidency on Adesina’s mind is that of the AfDB.
Prior to his AfDB job, Adesina was Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development under President Goodluck Jonathan between 2011 to 2015. He was elected as the 8th President of the AfDB on Thursday, May 28, 2015, succeeding Donald Kaberuka of Rwanda. Adesina assumed duty on September 1st, 2015.
He made his intention to return for a second term known in Malabo at the close of the 54th Annual Meetings of the AfDB Group, which was held on June 14, 2019. The next election has been slated to take place during the 55th Annual Meetings of the bank which is scheduled for 2020 in Côte d’Ivoire.
Note that the AfDB was founded in 1964 and comprises three entities: The African Development Bank, the African Development Fund, and the Nigeria Trust Fund.
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