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Tag: Akinwumi Adesina

  • AfDB President, Adesina, pulls out of 2023 presidential race

    AfDB President, Adesina, pulls out of 2023 presidential race

    Dr Akinwumi Adesina, the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), says he will not run for the post of president in the 2023 general elections.

    Adesina, who said this in a statement on Tuesday, said he was focused on the mission of supporting the accelerated development and economic integration of Africa.

    According to him, I have been extremely humbled by several calls from Nigerians at home and abroad that I should consider running for the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    “I am very touched by all who have gone to great extent, with such huge sacrifices of their own volition to consider me worthy to be proposed for potential consideration.

    “The coalition groups of youth, women, farmers, physically challenged and well-meaning Nigerians that have done this have expressed their genuine free will.

    “They also expressed their political right, freedom of expression and association for my consideration, with the interest of Nigeria at heart.

    “While I am deeply honoured, humbled and grateful for all the incredible goodwill, kindness and confidence, my current responsibilities at this time do not allow me to accept to be considered.

    “I remain fully engaged and committed to the mission that Nigeria, Africa and all the non-African shareholders of the AfDB have given me for Africa’s development,’’ he said.

    There have been reports in some sections of the media that Adesina will join the 2023 presidential race.

  • Buhari my Supporter-in-Chief, Defender-in-Chief – AfDB President Adesina

    Buhari my Supporter-in-Chief, Defender-in-Chief – AfDB President Adesina

    Newly reelected president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina has paid homage to President Muhammadu Buhari, for backing him at his hour of need.

    The AfDB President thanked the Nigerian President and people for their support, saying he was proud to be a citizen of the country.

    “Home is where dreams are born. Home is where nurturing is provided. It is where support is given for realization of dreams. I am glad to belong here,” Dr Adesina said.

    “When I came in June, you received me, and I shared my successes, and the difficulties facing me. You listened, and said you would stand by me. And you did. You not only stood behind me, but also beside me. No greater honour for a man than for his Commander-in-Chief to be his Supporter-in-Chief, and his Defender-in-Chief,” he added.

    Adesina said Nigeria gave him air, “when I badly needed it in my lungs,” and pledged to always support the country in his private capacity, and as AfDB President.

    He then asked for a round of applause for the President, which was truly resounding.

    President Muhammadu Buhari congratulated Adesina for his re-election.

    “I congratulate you on your second and final term in office. Congratulations on winning the election. Nothing succeeds like success.”

    Dr Adesina had overcome stiff opposition last month to win an unprecedented 100% votes from the regionals and non-regionals that make up the Bank, and was inaugurated for second term of five years as AfDB President on September 1.

    “I have told so many people why I backed you,” President Buhari said.

    “In 2015, at your first term, you were a Minister with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) government, and I was of the All Progressives Congress (APC). But you are a good Nigerian. So I recommended you the first time. You proved to be competent, you made us proud, and I recommended you the second time.”

    The President commended Dr Adesina for his support for Africa in general, and Nigeria in particular, stressing that the infrastructural deficits the country has in roads, rail, power, could not be overcome without support.

    “There can’t be sustainable development without infrastructure. Our efforts should be seen in the context of lack of resources, but you do your best to support us. I wish you all the best in your final term,” President Buhari said.

  • Reelection: Akinwumi Adesina to be sworn-in as AfDB president today

    Reelection: Akinwumi Adesina to be sworn-in as AfDB president today

    Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, re-elected president of the African Development Bank, will be sworn-in today to begin a second term of five-years.

    The virtual ceremony will start at 9am GMT.

    A statement by the bank said the swearing in ceremony will be attended by Heads of States, Governors and external stakeholders.

    It will be conducted in compliance with the COVID-19 pandemic-related social distance guidelines, and broadcast online.

    A globally renowned development economist, World Food Prize Laureate and Sunhak Peace Prize Laureate, Dr. Adesina has distinguished himself in driving a bold agenda to reform the Bank and accelerate Africa’s development.

    He was first elected as President of the Bank on May 28, 2015. He was re-elected unopposed last week, winning unanimous votes of all the governors of the bank.

    Expected to be present at the bank for the event that will be streamed live is the new chairman board of governors of the bank, Kenneth Ofori-Atta, Ghana’s minister of finance.

    Also expected is the former chairman of the board, Ivorian Niale Kaba.

    The secretary-general of the AfDB Group, Professor Vincent Nmehielle will read Akinwunmi’s citation, before the oath taking.

  • What Adesina told AfDB Group Board of Governors before re-election

    What Adesina told AfDB Group Board of Governors before re-election

    Against all odds, Akinwumi Adesina was on Thursday re-elected as the President of the African Development Bank president (AfDB) for another term of five years.

    Adesina re-election was affirmed on the second day of the 55th Annual Meetings and the 46th meetings of the Board of Governors of the African Development Fund.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Adesina on Wednesday made a case for his re-election as head of the institution, saying that he wanted to fulfil “his sense of duty and commitment”.

    Adesina recalled that his current five-year term as head of the African Development Bank Group was marked by the implementation of five strategic priorities for the continent’s development, known as the “High 5s”.

    “Five years ago, right here in Abidjan, you elected me president of the African Development Bank. It was a huge responsibility to shoulder. I promised that I would work tirelessly to accelerate Africa’s development. My vision, focused on the High 5 priorities, was my commitment, my promise, my compass,” Adesina said during a virtual session at the start of the Bank’s 2020 Annual Meetings.

    “Time has passed so quickly,” he noted, citing the Bank’s achievements in the five years of his presidency: 18 million additional people now have access to electricity, 141 million people have received more advanced agricultural technology to improve food security, 15 million people have access to financing, 101 million now have access to improved transport, and 60 million people have gained access to water and sanitation.

    “With these positive results, President Adesina asked the Board of Governors to renew their trust in him for the next five years. “Dear Governors, these Annual Meetings are my opportunity to offer you my services and seek a second term as President of the African Development Bank. I do so with humility. I do so with an acute sense of duty and commitment. I do so to serve Africa and our Bank,” he stated.

    Côte d’Ivoire President Alassane Ouattara, who witnessed Adesina’s election in 2015, welcomed the fact that his country was once again presiding over the electoral process. He called on the Bank’s Governors, headed by Ivorian Minister of Planning for Planning and Development Kaba Nialé, to respect the articles governing the institution, before addressing a message to the candidate.

    Ouattara wished Adesina well and said he hoped that his re-election bid was successful. Adesina was the sole candidate in the running.

    TNG reports Adesina is the 8th elected President of the AfDB Group. He was first elected to the position on May 28, 2015 by the Bank’s Board of Governors at its Annual Meetings in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

    He took office at the Bank’s headquarters in Abidjan on September 1, 2015 and served an initial five-year term.

    He is a distinguished development economist and agricultural development expert with over 25 years of international experience. He is the first Nigerian to serve as President of the Bank Group.

    Adesina served as Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development from 2011 to 2015, during which time he implemented bold policy reforms in the fertilizer sector and pursued innovative agricultural investment programs to expand opportunities for the private sector.

    He was previously Vice-President (Policy and Partnerships) of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). He was also Associate Director (Food Security) at the Rockefeller Foundation in New York, where he worked for a decade (1998-2008) in senior leadership positions, including as Regional Office Director and Representative for Southern Africa.

    Adesina was Principal Economist and Social Science Research Coordinator for the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Principal Economist and Coordinator of the West Africa Rice Economics Task Force at the West Africa Rice Development Association (WARDA) and an Assistant Principal Economist at the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). From 2008 to 2010, Adesina was the President of the African Association of Agricultural Economists.

    Adesina has received a number of global awards for his leadership and work in agriculture. In 2010, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appointed him as one of 17 global leaders to spearhead the Millennium Development Goals, along with Bill Gates, the Spanish Prime Minister and the President of Rwanda. He was named Person of the Year by Forbes Africa magazine in 2013.

    Adesina earned a first-class honours Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Ife, Nigeria in 1981. In 1988 he completed a PhD in Agricultural Economics at Purdue University in the United States, where he won the Outstanding PhD Thesis Award for his research work. He also won the prestigious Rockefeller Foundation Social Science Post-Doctoral Fellowship in 1988, which launched his international career in global agricultural development.

    Born on February 6, 1960, Adesina speaks fluent French and English.

  • Buhari excited as AfDB board passes vote of confidence on Adesina

    President Muhammadu Buhari has commended President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Nigeria’s Dr Akinwumi Adesina, over the clean bill of health given him by Board of Directors of the financial institution.

    The president made his feelings known in a statement released by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, in Abuja on Thursday.

    President Buhari noted that a report dated May 5, 2020, signed by Niale Kaba, Chairman of the Bureau of the Board of Governors, indicated that Dr Adesina had been exonerated of allegations against him by whistleblowers.

    The allegations were thoroughly investigated by the Ethics Committee of the Board of Directors, and a recommendation made to Governors of the African Development Bank, and African Development Fund.

    “On the basis of the results contained in the report of the committee, I am of the view that we should adopt its conclusions by declaring that the President is totally exonerated of all the allegations made against him,’’ the report by Kaba indicated.

    According to President Buhari, Adesina has served the African continent well, and has made his motherland proud.

    He wished him greater successes in the position of responsibility he occupies.

  • AfDB Presidency: ECOWAS endorses Adesina for second term

    The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has endorsed the candidacy of African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina for a second term at the helm of the institution.

    The decision was announced at the end of the fifty-sixth ordinary session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS, held on Saturday in Abuja, Nigeria.

    “In recognition of the sterling performance of Dr. Akinwumi Adesina during his first term of office as President of the African Development Bank, the Authority endorses his candidacy for a second term as the President of the bank,” ECOWAS said in a communique issued after the meeting.

    Adesina is the eighth elected President of the African Development Bank Group. He was elected to the five-year term on 28 May 2015 by the Bank’s Board of Governors at its Annual Meetings in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, where the same electoral process will play out next year.

    Adesina is a renowned development economist and the first Nigerian to serve as President of the Bank Group. He has served in several high-profile positions internationally, including with the Rockefeller Foundation, and was Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development from 2011 to 2015, a career stint that was widely praised for his reforms in the agricultural sector.

    The former minister brought the same drive to the Bank, making agriculture one of the organization’s priority areas.

    Speaking earlier at the opening ceremony, Adesina reminded the group of the African Development Bank’s investments in the region.

    “You can always count on the African Development Bank – your Bank,” Adesina told delegates.

  • Buhari, Akinwumi Adesina meet at Aso Rock

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday met behind closed-door with the president of African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina.

    Adesina, a former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, arrived at the villa at about 2.45 p.m. and went straight to the president’s office for a closed-door meeting.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the agenda of the meeting between President Buhari and the AfDA president was unknown while the outcome of the deliberation was being awaited as at the time of filing report.

    The Federal Executive Council (FEC) had on Wednesday approved the request to obtain a loan of 150 million dollars from the African Development Bank (AfDF) to finance the Nigerian Electrification Project.

    The project when fully implemented would benefit about 500,000 people while 105,000 households would have access to electricity supply.

    The Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, on Wednesday told State House correspondents that the electrification project aligned with the strategy of the federal government on electrifying rural communities.

    “The maximum power that will be generated will be 76.5 megawatts installed generating capacity, part of which is 68,000 megawatts of solar,’’ she said.

    Adesina was elected as the 8th President of the African Development Bank on Thursday, May 28, 2015.

    The AfDA President took over from Donald Kaberuka of Rwanda, and assumed duty in September 2015 in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire.

  • AfDB president calls for global focus on Africa’s rural poverty

    The President of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, has called for urgent action to end rural poverty in Africa.

    He spoke at a conference on the future of the rural world in Berlin, Germany, where in 1884, Africa was partitioned by European colonialists.

    “We must pay particular attention to three factors: extreme rural poverty, high rates of unemployment among the youths and climate and environmental degradation – what I refer to as the ‘disaster triangle’,” Adesina told participants during a keynote speech at the ‘One World, No Hunger: Future of the Rural World’ conference hosted by the German Development Ministry (BMZ).

    Noting that conflicts and terrorism easily take root where these three factors exist, Adesina stressed the imperative of investing heavily in Africa’s rural areas and reversing endemic misery to prosperity. “We must create jobs for the youths and disrupt terrorists’ recruitments that are taking root in these rural areas …. We must connect economic security, food security and climate security,” he said.

    The AfDB President shared the Bank’s efforts in rural economies including the investment of US $24 billion in agriculture in the next 10 years and in several other domains through its ambitious multi-billion High 5 priorities – Light up and power Africa; Feed Africa; Industrialize Africa; Integrate Africa; and Improve the quality of life for the people of Africa.

    He reiterated the Bank’s strong support for Germany’s Compact with Africa and its focus on food security, energy, jobs, infrastructure, peace and security, which are very much in line with the High 5s.

    For his part, German Development Minister Gerd Müller noted that “Only strong rural areas will be able to prevent hunger crises in the future and offer truly good prospects to young people.”

    He welcomed 150 young people from Germany, Africa and various G20 countries, who were invited to speak at the conference noting that “the future of humankind will be decided in the world’s rural areas!”

    Germany is using its current Presidency of the G20 to work towards the adoption of concrete agreements on fostering youth employment in rural areas. Participants will endorse the Berlin Charter on Creating Opportunities for the Young Generation in the Rural World at the end of the conference.

    Key participants at the forum include Bangladeshi Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus; Sudanese-British entrepreneur/philanthropist Mo Ibrahim; Nigerian entrepreneur and philanthropist Tony Elumelu; the Head of German Federal Chancellery, Peter Altmaier; and Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt.

    The conference took place on Thursday.

     

     

    NAN

  • Buhari’s govt signs Joint Development Agreement, to boost power supply

    The government of President Muhammadu Buhari has yesterday signed a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) with key investors with the view to securing investment into the 100 MW (DC) Nova Scotia Power plant located in Dutse in the Northern Nigerian state of Jigawa.

    Signing the agreement, the stakeholders said the project has the potential to significantly contribute to the plan of the authorities of the State of Jigawa to attract USD 2 billion of investments into Jigawa and implement President Buhari’s plans to provide jobs and economic opportunities especially for the nation’s youth.

    The signing ceremony of the JDA was held in the presence of the deputy governor of Jigawa state, Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia; Borge Brende, the visiting Norwegian Foreign Minister, Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank (AfDB) and Chairman of Africa50’s Board of Directors as well as officials from the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading among others.

    The JDA which was signed with Africa50, an African Infrastructure Fund sponsored by AfDB and more than 20 African States; Norfund, the Norwegian Investment Fund for Development Countries, and Scatec Solar, the deputy governor of Jigawa said, “New local power generation capacity is a key element to attract sizeable investment into the State and region, especially into new industries such as light manufacturing and agricultural processing”.

    Recently, the AfDB appointed MCB Investment Management (MCBIM), a subsidiary of MCB Capital Markets, as fund manager for its first multi-jurisdictional Fixed Income Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) in Africa.

    Speaking at the ceremony, Akinwumi Adesina, president of the AfDB and Chairman of Africa50’s Board of Directors, said “I am pleased that Africa50 is already making its first investment, which fits in squarely with our priority to light up and power Africa,” adding that “Africa50 has been created by African governments, including Nigeria, the AfDB and institutional investors to mobilize private sector for funding infrastructure projects in Africa”.

    Apart from the three equity investors, the American Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), Islamic Development Bank and the AfDB are expected to be senior debt providers for the project.

    With an estimated investment of USD 150 million, a production of 200,000 MWh of electricity per year and 120,000 tons of CO2 emissions avoided annually, the stakeholders said “the Nova Scotia solar plant will help Nigeria rapidly increase its generation capacity, provide economic opportunities, fight desertification caused by climate change, and contribute to fulfilling Buhari’s commitments to develop renewable energy as part of the Paris Climate Change Agreement.