*Adesina: I’m Confident That A Fair, Just And Transparent Probe Will Prove My Innocence
As exclusively reported by The New Diplomat, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank(AfDB) is being asked to step down as AfDB’s president pending the outcome of independent investigations, latest checks from the premier African finance institution reveal.
This latest development is as a result of conditional demands by the United States, and other member-countries of the AfDB Board of Governors including Norway, Denmark, Sweden, among others to the effect that unless an independent and impartial probe into the allegations of corruption and misconduct leveled against Adesina are transparently carried out, the financial institution might face severe consequences.
According to inside sources who wish to remain anonymous, the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the AfDB, who is also the minister of planning and development of the Republic of Code’d Ivore, Madame Niale Kaba has reportedly consented to the request of the U.S Government and some of its allies, including some leading European member-countries of the AfDB by endorsing an independent investigation into the accusations deposited to against Adesina.
However, in a statement issued today, Adesina reiterated his innocence quoting Martin Lurther King Jr’s famous quote; ” the arc of the mortal universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”
In his one page statement, Adesina, a former Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture said: ” I am confident that fair, transparent and just processes that respect the rules , procedures and governance systems of the Bank, and the rule of Law, will ultimately prove that I have not violated the code of Ethics of this extroadinary institution.
“I will therefore continue to work with each and everyone of our shareholders to ensure that the African Development Bank maintains its hard earned global reputation;
“and that our credible and well-functioning institution and governance systems are reinforced, as we collectively press on to fulfill the mission of our founders to accelerate and transform Africa’s development.”
According to Adesina, the allegations against him are trumped up allegations “that unjustly seek to impugn my honor and integrity, as well as the reputation of the African Development Bank.”
Not-withstanding, checks indicate that despite the AfDB’s president’s attempt to debunk the allegations, he would ultimately be asked to proceed on leave with pay pending the outcome of the designated independent and impartial probe which might soon commence. This development, according to insiders in the AfDB, is in line with the protocols governing the conduct of such probes since the AfDB is a global finance institution.
This development corroborates The New Diplomat’s exclusive report that the accusations against the AfDB’s top boss have escalated, triggering moves to ask him to proceed on leave with pay pending the outcome of independent investigations.
Sources within the AfDB hierarchy had posited that since subsisting allegations raised by the group of Whistleblowers hinge on depositions that the ADfB president allegedly used his privileged position to deliberately sabotage the Ethics Committee’s work including purportedly using arm-twisting tactics to over-rule the Ethics team’s works, and deploying strategic loyalists within the Bank to undermine the work of the Ethics committee through threats, the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the AfDB may initiate moves to insulate the proposed independent investigation team that is being expected to be put in place, from the AfDB’s leadership and institutional pressures and influences.
Recall that The New Diplomat had reported that top bureaucrats at the African premier finance institution who are accustomed to the guidelines of independent investigating teams at global financial institutions like the AfDB maintained that one of the procedural protocols is that Adesina and all those mentioned or implicated in the whistleblowers’ petitions, “would naturally be asked to proceed on leave with pay pending the outcome of the independent investigations.”
Two senior international diplomats who also spoke with The New Diplomat on condition of anonymity while confirming this dimension further explained that the letter by the United States government was quite compact and explicit on this point as well. According to them one of the steps under normal governance “protocols that regulate independent inquiries in global institutions is to request all accused persons to proceed on leave with pay to prevent the investigators’ works from being impeded by political, leadership or institutional interference or influences”.
One of the senior diplomats had said: “ Go and read that letter by Secretary Mnuchin who is also on the Board of Governors of the AfDB in his capacity as United States Treasury Secretary. The first line of the letter is quite categorical, that the Chairman of the Board, Minister Kaba should take steps to initiate an impartial, independent investigation into these allegations. The question you should then ask is: What are the protocols governing such steps in international institutions like the AFDB? One, himself, and all those mentioned in this case would naturally be asked to go on leave with pay during the duration of the investigations. It is the normal practice or conventional protocol to ensure transparency, independence, and impartiality of the work. ”
It would be recalled that following allegations of ethical misconducts and alleged sundry offences leveled against Adesina, the United States had in a letter dated May 22nd, and addressed to Madame Minister Niale Kaba in her capacity as chairman of the AfDB’s Bureau of Board of Governors and signed by Steven Mnuchin, Secretary of the Treasury of the U.S. maintained that “ the United States cannot support dismissing the allegations at this stage.”
According to the US, this position is predicated on the fact that “ the Board of Governors must demonstrate that this institution takes governance, anti-corruption, and transparency seriously.” Niale Kaba is the chairman of the Bureau of Board of Governors of the AfDB and minister of planning and development of the Republic of Cote d’ Ivoire.
Mnuchin had in his letter stated: “ We thus request that you (Madame Kaba) take steps to initiate an impartial, independent investigation into these allegations. Whatever the outcome, the AfDB will emerge stronger for having taken seriously its obligations to uphold good governance. The United States sincerely wishes AfDB to remain a high-quality institution with the capability to address the needs of the African continent, particularly at this critical time.
“Considering the scope, seriousness, and detail of these allegations against the sole candidate (Adesina) for the Bank’s leadership over the next five years, we believe that further inquiry is necessary to ensure the AfDB’s president has broad support, confidence and a clear mandate from shareholders.”
The Board of Governors of the AfDB is the most powerful and highest decision-making body of the financial institution. The Board is made up of governors and alternate governors drawn from 54 African countries and 26 non-African countries. Among other responsibilities, it has the mandate to initiate disciplinary action against the president of the Bank, suspend or remove him from office and engage outside auditors to certify the Bank’s general balance sheet and the statement of profit and loss of the bank and to select such other experts as may be necessary to examine and report on the general management of the Bank.
The independent probe is coming barely 3 months to the bank’s annual general meeting, where Adesina is expected to be ratified for a second term, having been the sole Presidential candidate.
Before the AfDB decided to order a fresh probe, S & P senior analyst, Alexander Ekbom, had similarly insisted on an independent and impartial scrutiny into the allegations.
He said: “If there are questions from major shareholders on the appropriateness of an internal process, clearly it’s not harmful if that is put into a different light and looked at from the outside world with fresh eyes”.
