President of the Africa Development Bank, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has formally ruled himself out of the presidential race of the forthcoming 2023 general elections.
Adesina made this known in a statement issued on Tuesday and made available to The New Diplomat.
He noted that his decision to turn down calls for him to join the presidential race is to allow him remain focus on his mission as the President of the AfDB.
Adesina’s statement is coming after a group bought the N100m presidential nomination form for the All Progressives Congress(APC) for him.
However, the move was against the AfDB regulations as the Paragraph 2 of Article 38 of the agreement establishing AfDB bars its President from partisan politics.
The paragraph 2 of Article 38 of the agreement establishing AfDB, titled ‘Prohibition of Political Activity; the International Character of the Bank’, states that “The Bank, its President, Vice Presidents, officers and staff shall not interfere in the political affairs of any member (country); nor shall they be influenced in their decisions by the political character of the member (country) concerned.”
Meanwhile, Adesina has now distance himself from the 2023 presidential race.
The statement reads, “While I am deeply honoured, humbled and grateful for all the incredible goodwill, kindness, and confidence, my current responsibilities at this time do not allow me to accept to considered,” the statement read in part.
“I remain fully engaged and committed to the mission that Nigeria, Africa, and all the non-African shareholders of the African Development Bank have given me for Africa’s development.
“I remain fully focused on the mission of supporting the accelerated development and economic integration of Africa.”
