The Annual General Meeting of the African Development Bank, AfDB has reelected Akinwunmi Adesina for a second five-year term as president.
The election, which took place electronically on Thursday, Lespanafricaines reports, was a mere formality because Adesina was a sole candidate for the position.
Adesina had faced months-long investigation over alleged corruption and poor governance but was cleared by, including an independent panel.
In his speech at the AfDB’s AGM, Adesina formally requested a second term as president, declaring that he was “doing it with an acute sense of duty and commitment.
“I do it to serve Africa and our bank, in an unbiased way, to the best of the abilities that God has given me,” he said in a statement by the bank.
Adesina gained continent-wide recognition last October when the AfDB secured $115 billion (€105 billion) in funding pledges, a move that doubled its capital and cemented its triple-A credit rating.
The AfDB has estimated that the continent could lose at least $173.1 billion in GDP in 2020 and $236.7 billion in 2021 as a result of the economic fallout from the COVID-19 crisis.
The bank has moved swiftly in response, setting up a coronavirus funding mechanism in April of up to $10 billion.
The number of shareholders in the AfDB rose to 81, with the admission of Ireland.
Fifty-four shareholders are African, while the others are from the Americas, Asia and Europe.
