Dr Akinwumi Adesina has been sworn-in as the newly re-elected eighth President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) for a second term.
The swearing-in ceremony and oath-taking took place on Tuesday, September 1 and was broadcast virtually.
The event was attended by Heads of States, Governors, Nigeria’s former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, and over 200 external stakeholders who joined physically and virtually.
The Chairperson of the AfDB board of Governors and Ghana’s Finance Minister, Kenneth Ofori-Attah, administered the oath of office.
Dr Adesina, Nigeria’s former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, was re-elected on August 27 to serve a second five-year term, after a unanimous vote of all Governors, regional and non-regional members of the Bank.
The election which was announced by the former Chairperson of the Board of Governors of the Bank, Mrs. Niale Kaba, Minister of National Planning of Côte d’Ivoire, took place on the last day of the 2020 55th Annual Meetings.
The AfDB President described his re-election as historic, becoming the first President of the bank to be re-elected by 100 percent votes of all its shareholders and the first Nigerian to hold the post.
During his first 5-year term in office, the bank focused on five key development priorities known as the High 5s: Light up and Power Africa; Feed Africa; Industrialize Africa; Integrate Africa; and Improve the Quality of Life for the People of Africa.
During Adesina’s first term, the Bank achieved impactful results on the lives of 335 million Africans, including;
18 million people with access to electricity; 141 million people benefiting from improved agricultural technologies for food security; 15 million people benefiting from access to finance from private investments; 101 million people provided with access to improved transport; and 60 million people gaining access to water and sanitation.
The African Development Bank is Africa’s premier development finance institution, comprising 54 regional and 27 non-regional member countries.