- How ADB Laws and Ethics Bar Him From Partisan Politics!
Akinwunmi Adesina, President of The African Development Bank, AfDB risks losing his exalted position if he is drawn into the murky waters of Nigerian Politics.
Checks by The New Diplomat have unveiled extant laws and ethics of the multilateral development finance institution that prohibit him from dabbling into partisan politics while still serving as the bank’s president.
Recall that a coalition of 28 groups had procured the All-Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Nomination and Expression of Interest Forms for him while calling on him to join the presidential race in a bid to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari.
President of the One Nigeria Group, Mohammed Saleh one of the coalitions based their argument on his proven integrity and experience.
“He has done so much for Nigeria as Minister for Agriculture. He has solved the problems of so many farmers and created so many jobs by solving the corruption in the agricultural sector. Particularly the fertilizer, which he brought the e-wallet for fertilizer which the farmers are enjoying now and it has created a lot of jobs. It has also helped millions of farmers in Nigeria which they are still benefiting and also as President, of the African Development Bank he has brought a lot of initiatives that solve Africa’s food security problem. So, we will like him to come back home and apply it here in Nigeria” the group canvassing that he joined the presidential race stated.
However, The New Diplomat has unearthed a document titled Agreement Establishing The African Development Bank which bars him from dabbling into partisan politics while still serving as the President of the bank.
In Article 38 of the document titled Prohibition of Political Activity, the bank exclusively warned its president, vice president, and all Staff who shall and must not be involved in or interfere in the political affairs of member countries including Nigeria.
In appendix 2 of the Article, it stated that “The Bank, its President, Vice-Presidents, officers, and staff shall not interfere in the political affairs of any member; nor shall they be influenced in their decisions by the political character of the member concerned. Only economic considerations shall be relevant to their decisions. Such considerations shall be weighed impartially in order to achieve and carry out the functions of the Bank.
The President, Vice-Presidents, officers, and staff of the Bank, in the discharge of their offices, owe their duty entirely to the Bank and to no other authority. Each member of the Bank shall respect the international character of this duty and shall refrain from all attempts to influence any of them in the discharge of their duties” the article stated.
Similarly, The Code Of Conduct For Executive Directors Of The African Development Bank And The African Development Fund prohibits Presidents, Vice Presidents, Staff, and Executive Directors from such interests considered as political.
In Item 10 of the Code of Conduct titled Partisan Political Activities, the bank prohibited its staff from participating in partisan politics.
“Although Executive Directors are elected representatives of governments from their constituencies, they shall during their tenure of office as Executive Directors refrain from participating in active politics in their home countries or elsewhere. Such activities are not only inconsistent with Executive Directors’ duty to devote their full time and attention to the Bank, but may also embarrass or result in inappropriate publicity for the Bank as an international financial institution, insulated from the internal politics of member countries.
This prohibition is without prejudice to an Executive Director’s civic rights and responsibilities in his/her home country.
An Executive Director who accepts or assumes public office in any country shall resign as Executive Director.
Going by the foregoing, legal practitioners argue that if Adesina accepts the purchase of the form then he must quit or the Board will move to enforce the rules against him.
A lawyer who wishes to remain anonymous argued that a similar scenario is playing out in the case of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN Governor Emefiele.
He argued that if Emefiele is being asked to resign from his position in order to join the race, then, Akinwunmi Adesina must also resign his position or the Board of the bank will kick him out.
“It’s bad for both and the legal and moral impediments are there. While Emefiele is being lampooned to resign, many are encouraging Adesina to run forgetting the conflict of interest. The optics are both bad. Nigeria is partly his employer as the majority shareholder at AfDB. He should also remember that the Americans are breathing down his neck there. If he must join the race, he should also quit as the President of AfDB” the source said
