The former governor of Anambra State and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Vice Presidential candidate in the 2019 general election, Peter Obi, has hailed the exoneration of African Development Bank (AfDB) President, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, by an Independent Review Panel set up to investigate allegations of ethical wrongdoings leveled against him.
Obi, in a statement by his media assistant, Valentine Obienyem, said it was a welcome development which paves the way for his second term as president of the bank.
Obi said like every well-meaning Nigerian, he was very delighted at the high level of integrity on display in the clearance of AfDB president, Adesina, by the Mary Robinson-led committee, just as he threw his weight behind his second term bid.
Hailing Mary Robinson, Chairperson of the Elders, a global body of wise persons concerned with the world’s wellbeing, as “integrity personified”, Obi said: “This clearance has finally given the ‘OK’ for Adesina’s second tenure to continue his good work for the African continent.”
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It would be recalled that the Independent Review Panel was set up by the AfDB Bureau of Governors following a complaint by the United States, to review the process by which two previous organs of the bank – the Ethics Committee of the Board, and the Bureau of the Board of Governors – had previously exonerated Adesina.
The distinguished three-member Independent Review Panel also included the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Gambia, Hassan B. Jallow; and Leonard F. McCarthy, a former Director of Public Prosecutions, a former Director for the Office of Serious Economic Offences, and a former Head of the Directorate of Special Operations of South Africa.
The report of the Independent Review Panel stated that it “concurs with the (Ethics) Committee in its findings in respect of all the allegations against the President and finds that they were properly considered and dismissed by the Committee.”
This clears the way for governors of the bank to re-elect Adesina to a second five-year term as president during its annual meetings scheduled for August 25-27, 2020.
