The African Development Bank (AfDB), has again sworn-in Dr. Akinwumi Adesina as the President .
According to report gathered, the swearing-in ceremony and oath-taking took place on Tuesday, September 1, 2020.
GoldeNewsNg gathered that the broadcast which was held virtually was attended by Heads of States, Governors, Nigeria’s former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, and over 200 external stakeholders who joined physically and virtually.
Dr. Akinwumi Adesina Nigeria’s former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, was re-elected on August 27 to serve a second five-year term, after a unanimous vote of all Governors, regional and non-regional members of the Bank.
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Akinwumi Adesina while expressing himself, described his re-election as historic, becoming the first President of the bank to be re-elected by 100 percent votes of all its shareholders and the first Nigerian to hold the post.
According to him, during his first 5-year term in office, the bank focused on five key development priorities known as the High 5s: Light up and Power Africa; Feed Africa; Industrialize Africa; Integrate Africa; and Improve the Quality of Life for the People of Africa.
Dr. Akinwumi Adesina First term in office
During Dr. Akinwumi Adesina first term, the Bank achieved 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 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,” the statement added.
The African Development Bank is Africa’s premier development finance institution, comprising 54 regional and 27 non-regional member countries.
