Nigeria’s outgoing agriculture minister Akinwumi Adesina today won the vote to become the new president of the African Development Bank, official results showed.
Adesina, 55, will succeed Rwandan Donald Kaberuka, bank chief for two consecutive terms since 2005, at a time of economic transformation in the continent.
He was elected after six rounds of voting, beating the finance ministers of Cape Verde and Chad to the role. Dr. Adesina won over 60% of the vote, overcoming challenges from the former Chad minister of finance Kordjé Bedoumra and Cristina Duarte of Cape Verde, also a finance minister.
Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, now has one of her own leading the continent’s most influential financial institution. The board of the AfDB has been reluctant in the past to elect as its leader representatives from the region’s bigger economies, choosing presidents from some of the smaller countries. It was their way of counteracting the potential dominance of the big nations. With Adesina’s selection, the AfDB has bucked that trend.
A total of 80 AfDB shareholders — 54 African states and 26 non-African countries — took part in the vote in Abidjan, which saw eight candidates vying for the presidency. Adesina, is an agricultural economist and takes over the role at a time of considerable promise for Africa. During his campaign for the post, he was vocal about wanting to make sure the AfDB is more inclusive. He was keen to talk up agriculture’s potential role in helping to eradicate poverty on the continent.
The timing is fortuitous for Adesina as a new government takes over in his home country of Nigeria tomorrow. He would have likely have had to step down as agriculture minister regardless of the AfDB election outcome.
