Serving as AfDB President greatest honour of my life –Adesina

Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, says serving as President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) is the greatest honour of his life. Adesina said this at a breakfast meeting held for the media to declare open the AfDB 2025 Annual Meetings in Abidjan. “It has been a decade of relentless purpose, of enduring passion, and of tireless service. I thank you for walking on this journey with me,’’ he said. Adesina, a Nigerian Development Economist and Agricultural Development Expert became president of the bank 10 years ago. This was after serving as Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture from 2011 to 2015, transforming the sector by attracting private sector investments as well as supporting youth and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Adesina is dedicated to transforming agriculture in Africa from a subsistence activity to a viable business that attracts investments. He is also passionate about ending poverty, hunger and malnutrition in Africa and lifting millions of people into the middle class. “When I was elected in 2015, I didnot have any grey hair then. Now my hair has turned several shades of grey. “Grey from 10 years of unrelenting drive to push Africa forward. Grey from our tireless efforts to turn the Bank into a globally respected financial institution where it was ranked as the best multilateral financial institution in the world. “Grey from leading the Bank to achieve the largest capital increase in its history, raising the capital of the Bank from 93 billion dollars in 2015 to 318 billion dollars today – an unprecedented achievement. “Grey from leading the Bank to achieve the largest capital increase in its history, raising the capital of the Bank from 93 billion dollars in 2015 to 318 billion dollars today – an unprecedented achievement. “Grey from leading the Bank to achieve the highest replenishment of the African Development Fund in the history of the Fund, as we successfully raised 8.9 billion dollars for its 16th replenishment.’’ He said; “Grey from working side by side with my staff to lead on global financial innovations such as the launch of hybrid capital instruments and synthetic securitization, becoming the first ever multilateral financial institution to do so globally According to him, Grey from our collective work to ensure that we serve the people of Africa with passion, dedication, accountability, to help Africa develop with pride. “Grey from holding nothing back in service of the people of Africa, the president said. NAN reports that the 2025 meetings are being held under the theme: “Making Africa’s Capital Work Better for Africa’s Development.” Key highlights of the sessions include the Presidential Dialogue, the launch of the African Economic Outlook, and in-depth thematic discussions aimed at mobilising capital and building stronger institutions. The 2025 meetings are being held under the theme: “Making Africa’s Capital Work Better for Africa’s Development.” Key highlights of the sessions include the Presidential Dialogue, the launch of the African Economic Outlook, and in-depth thematic discussions aimed at mobilising capital and building stronger institutions. The Annual Meetings opened on Tuesday and it shall come to an end on Friday. 

Adesina Denies interest in 2027 Presidential Election

As expected, Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), has denied reports suggesting he is preparing to contest Nigeria’s 2027 presidential election. The speculation began after his recent interview on Arise Television, where he mentioned that he would be available for national service after his tenure at AfDB.  He stated that he is open to serving in any role, whether globally, in Africa, or in Nigeria.  His remarks led to widespread interpretations that he might be considering running for president. In response, Adesina took to X on Thursday to clarify his statement, saying his words had been misrepresented.  He maintained that while he expressed willingness to serve in various capacities, he never declared an intention to contest the presidency.  He urged the public to listen to his full interview for proper context. PLEASE READ: Sub-Sahara Africa dominates global terrorism related deaths Adesina, who was Nigeria’s minister of agriculture before becoming AfDB president in 2015, secured a second term at the bank in 2020.  His leadership at AfDB has focused on economic growth, infrastructure, and development financing across Africa. While his statement sparked political discussions, he emphasized that his priority remains his current role at AfDB, and he has no plans to enter the 2027 presidential race.

AfDB’s Total Portfolio In Nigeria Hits $4.4bn – Burrow

The African Development Bank (AfDB) says its total portfolio in Nigeria stands at $4.4 billion. The portfolio is for development projects. In his opening remarks at the Joint Country Portfolio Performance Review (CPPR), the Director General for Nigeria Country Department, AfDB, Lamine Barrow, who stated this at the weekend in Abuja, added that there have been significant improvement in the portfolio performance. He said: “Currently, the Bank’s portfolio in Nigeria is one of the largest among the Regional Member Countries (RMCs), with a total commitment value of US$ 4.4 billion. These are 48 operations fairly evenly distributed between public and private sector operations. “Since the 2022 CPPR Workshop, some of the portfolio performance metrics have improved. In particular, operations flagged for implementation challenges decreased from 36% in January 2023 to 32% in September 2023. This is a result of collective efforts from the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Executing Agencies and the Bank to reduce start-up and implementation delays. Indeed, the time taken to meet loan effectiveness and first disbursement conditions tend to be excessive. Let me acknowledge the unprecedented recent development with the FEC approval of the Ekiti Knowledge Zone project! “We are pleased that the share of start-up delays has been reduced from 32% of flagged operations in June 2023 to 28% in October 2023, and is expected to reach 8% by end 2023 with timely and targeted actions for some projects.” Burrow commended the Federal Government for the bold reforms initiated to address macro-economic imbalances and structural issues in the economy. “These reforms, particularly removal of the fuel subsidies and unification of the exchange rates management system, will help reignite higher economic growth trajectory, despite the short-term pains to the population. “This renewed drive for results and impact is clearly noticeable in the Bank’s interface with the Federal Ministry of Finance, and specifically the International Economic Relations Department,” he said.   Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Burrow said the Bank’s annual disbursements increased from UA 93 million in 2021 to UA 143 million in 2022 and projected to reach UA165 million by end December 2023. According to him, fiduciary compliance has also improved with progress observed in the submission rate of audited financial statements by the executing/implementing agencies for financial Years 2021 and 2022. “However, there is scope for further improvements in these and other areas. A more regular scheduling of our Quarterly Meetings will also help ensure that emerging issues in the portfolio management are addressed timely,” the AfDB chief said. To further drive improvement in the implementation of its project, he said the Bank “decided to introduce Project Awards to recognize excellence and strong performance, showcase best practices, and incentivize Executing Agencies and Project Implementation Units to improve performance and delivery of development results. I am pleased to announce that the first Project Awards will be given out today.  We hope that these recognitions will provide Project Teams added motivation to enhance project implementation performance and results.” For his part, Director International Economic Relations Department, Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Stanley George, said the aim of the workshop is to ensure Nigeria gets value for money.    He said, “If we take a facility we need to know how it is convertible to impact on people. The benefit is to the people that are our concern. We don’t want any delay. We want seamless implementation of these projects so that people on whose behalf this service was called would have immediate impact.” The Director said the review would help proffer solutions to the delays that are encountered in the implementation of some projects. “I want to use this opportunity to highlight some of the issues that may have inhibited the smooth performance of some of the portfolios. One of which is the long period of delay, low disbursement rate, and communication with various MDAs. I believe that some of these issues will be taken up at the very technical level, so that all stakeholders will know their critical roles,” he added.