President of the African Development Bank , Dr Akinwunmi Adesina , has been sworn- in for the second term in office .
The ceremony held virtually and broadcast online on Tuesday.
The Chairperson of the AfDB board of Governors and Ghana’ s Finance Minister , Kenneth Ofori -Attah , administered the oath of office.
Adesina, Nigeria ’ s former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development , was re -elected on August 27, after getting a 100 percent vote of all regional and non – regional members of the Bank .
He is expected to serve another five -year term.
The globally renowned development economist, was first elected as President of the Bank on May 28, 2015.
He is the first Nigerian to be elected and re – elected to serve as the bank’ s President.
The swearing -in ceremony was attended by Heads of States , Governors, and external stakeholders, according to a statement from the bank.
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 Bank has maintained its AAA- ratings by all major global credit rating agencies for five years in a row . The Board of Governors of the Bank Group approved a 125% increase in the General Capital of the Bank , raising its capital from $93 billion to $208 billion , the largest in the history of the Bank
“ The African Development Fund received a $7. 6 billion pledge from donors , a 32% increase, for support to low -income countries and fragile states . The Bank was ranked the 4th most transparent institution globally by Publish What You Fund, bolstering its strong governance credentials for transparency and accountability.
The African Development Bank’ s Board of Directors approved a $10 billion facility to support African countries to address the COVID – 19 pandemic. The Bank also launched a $3 billion COVID – 19 social bond on the global capital markets , the highest US dollar denominated social bond ever in world history , which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, Luxembourg Stock Exchange and NASDAQ , ” the statement added .
The African Development Bank is Africa ’ s premier development finance institution, comprising 54 regional and 27 non – regional member countries.
