As the president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, faces calls by the United States government for an independent probe into whistleblower allegations levelled against him, the number of people in Adesina’s support have increased.
The president of Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio, and the first United States representative to the African Development Bank (AfDB), Harold Doley, are the latest people speaking in favour of Adesina.
READ ALSO: Buhari Has Done Better Than Many World Leaders – Adesina
In a tweet on Sunday, Bio, assured Adesina of his unwavering support, saying:
Be assured @akin_adesina of my and my country’s staunch confidence and unflinching support for your bold and progressive leadership of the African Development Bank (@afdb_group).
In an open letter to US President, Donald Trump, however, Doley said that supporting the AfDB is good business for America, adding that since taking office in 2015, Adesina has rapidly restructured the bank and refined its focus through a High-5 strategy and the strategy has directly impacted the lives of millions of Africans.
According to Doley, this was achieved through strategic investment in energy, and electricity, agriculture, technology that significantly improved food security, access to private sector finance, improved transport infrastructure, water and sanitation.
“In 2019, with US support, the AfDB stakeholders approved a general capital increase of 115 billion dollars, the largest in the bank’s 56 years history. The increase more than doubled capital from 93 billion dollars to 208 billion dollars.
Also in 2019, the bank’s concessional window, the African Development Fund, received a 35 percent replenishment with donor contributions.
US shares of $499,695,200 represents 7.81 percent of total subscriptions are a critically needed resource for low-income countries and transition states.
Ultimately, supporting Africa’s private sector is critical for social and economic development. In 2018, Adesina led an unprecedented effort to attract global investment into Africa through the inaugural Africa Investment Forum.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian government through Zainab Ahmed, the minister of finance, budget and national planning, and 14 ex-presidents including Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan have also expressed support for Adesina.
In separate letters, they claimed that an independent probe is not provided for in AfDB governing procedures after the bank’s ethics committee cleared Adesina of all charges.
