By Kolawole Ojebisi
Nigeria and other ninety (90) countries will decide, through votes, a new President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) today, Thursday, following the expiration of Akinwumi Adesina’s two-term tenure which spanned ten years.
Adesina’s successor will be decided at AfDB’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) at its headquarters in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire.
Five candidates of diverse nationalities are jostling for the exalted position which the Nigeria’s former Minister of Agriculture officially vacated on Wednesday.
The candidates are Ms Swazi Tshabalala from South Africa, Mr Hott Amadou from Senegal, Dr Samuel Munzele Maimbo from Zambia, Dr Sidi Tah Ould from Mauritania, and Mr Abbas Mahamat Tolli from Chad.
About 6000 delegates from 91 countries will converge for the meeting where the candidates’ fate will be decided.
The president is elected by the Board of Governors of the AfDB. The board of governors is made up of representatives of the 81 member states, who are usually ministers of finance, planning or central bank governors or their duly designated alternates.
Article 9 of the Rules of Procedure Governing the Election of the President of the Bank as amended (the “Election Rules”) provides that a candidate shall be elected if he or she obtains at least 50.01% of the total votes of the regional (African) member countries and at least of 50.01% of the votes of all member countries, (regional and non-regional) of the bank. This is also termed “double majority votes”.
Nigeria’s Adesina gave his farewell speech in Abidjan on Wednesday after a decade in the saddle of the organisation, calling the shots and guiding policies formulation.
In his speech, Adesina highlighted how his tenure witnessed a significant increase in the bank’s capital from $93 billion to $318 billion,
He also added that the AfDB under his watch succeeded in preserving the bank’s AAA credit rating.
