The African Development Bank (AfDB) board of governors has cleared 5 candidates to replace current President Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina who is leaving office in September 2025.
- •The board cleared Hott Amadou (Senegal), Maimbo Samuel Munzele (Zambia), Tah Sidi Ould (Mauritania), Tolli Abbas Mahamat (Chad), Tshabalala Bajabulile Swazi, (South Africa).
- •Dr. Adesina, a Nigerian economist, has been the multilateral institution’s president since May 2015.
- •The President of the AfDB serves as the Chairperson of the Board of Directors, the chief of the staff of the Bank and the legal representative of the Bank.
“The African Development Bank accelerated food production in Africa. Over 101 million people became food secure. We mobilized $72 billion to implement the food and agriculture delivery compacts across the continent,” Adesina said in his farewell address to Heads of State and Government at the 38th African Union Summit.
In the last decade, the bank’s capital increased from US$ 93 billion to US$ 318 billion currently. It raised US$8.9 in the last replenishment of its signature fund, and aims to raise US$25 billion at the next one. The bank also plans to establish an Africa Investment Guarantee Agency to cover international investors against political, climate, and macroeconomic risks.
Adesina’s successor will be elected by the Board and serve a 5-year term renewable once.
Before his election as AfDB president, Adesina served as Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. Past presidents include Donald Kaberuka (Rwanda), Omar Kabbaj (Morocco), Babacar Ndiaye (Senegal), and Wila D. Mungomba (Zambia).
