The Board of the African Development (AfDB), has reiterated that it supports the Board Ethics Committee report that vindicates the president of the regional bank, Akinwunmi Adesina.
The AfDB also rejected calls for an independent investigation and authorized a review of committee report by an individual of global repute to keep everyone abreast of the situation.
Speaking on the proposed probe by the United States; the bank’s second highest shareholder after Nigeria, the AfDB said:
The Bureau of the Board of Governors of the African Development Bank rules an Independent Investigation is not required and stands by the decision of the Ethics Committee in favor of Adesina.
Instead an independent reviewer will take a look at process by which the Ethics Committee reached its determination on Adesina’s behalf.
Essentially, there is NO new investigation. The Bureau of the Board of Governors agreed with the findings of the Ethics Committee that exonerated Adesina.
An independent reviewer will evaluate the process by which the Committee and the Bureau the Board of Governors reached its decision.
More importantly, a review of the whistleblower policy that led to this fiasco will be looked at.
According to the Ethics Committee rules, the allegations should never ever have been presented in the first place as there was zero evidence. A travesty of mega proportions.
Adesina has been caught in a wave of accusations after whistleblowers within the bank alleged that he had been carrying out activities that amounted to a breach of the organisation’s code of ethics.
The allegations by the whistleblowers, however, saw the United States calling for an independent probe of the former Nigerian Minister of Agriculture who is seeking re-election as the president of the regional bank situated in the West African country of Ivory Coast.
Meanwhile, several African leaders have backed Adesina in the face of his trials as they commended his achievements as the president of the AfFB.
