Hopes of Dr Akinwunmi Adesina retaining his seat as the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) for a second and final term brightened on Friday, as the High Representative for Infrastructure Development at the African Union, Mr Raila Odinga, joined 15 African Heads of State and other relevant stakeholders to support the embattled regional bank chief. With this development, the anti-Adesina forces are thinning out as the first United States representative on the board of the Bank, Harold Doley, has also written to the US Secretary of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin, insisting that supporting Adesina remains a good business for the United States.
Nonetheless, Odinga in a statement, noted that the allegations levelled against Adesina were “attempts to derail and disrupt” the institution at a time the world was focused on addressing the rampaging COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the allegations border mainly on favouring Nigerians working in AfDB by Adesina. Odinga said: “Available information points to some elements bent on circumventing the clearly articulated and well-tested governance and procedures by the bank.
