President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has ruled himself out of the 2023 Presidential race in Nigeria.
Dr Adesina made his position known in a statement on Tuesday, after months of calls for him to join the race and after a group bought the presidential nomination form for the All Progressives Congress for him.
“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.”
Dr Adesina is currently in his second tenure as President of the AfDB. He was re-elected to the position on August 27, 2020 during the bank’s 55th Annual Meetings. He started his second term on September 1 that same year.
A globally-renowned development economist, a World Food Prize Laureate and Sunhak Peace Prize Laureate, Dr Adesina has distinguished himself in driving a bold agenda to reform the bank and accelerate Africa’s development.
He was first elected as President of the AfDB on May 28, 2015 and is the first Nigerian to occupy the post.
Dr Adesina’s first term focused on the bold new agenda for the Bank Group based on five 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.
Under his leadership, 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.
Read his full statement below:
