Nigeria has almost doubled its voting rights in the African Development Bank (AfDB) to 16.8% before the bank’s annual meetings this week, as one of its own seeks re-election to the top post.
The country is now the biggest rights holder by far, followed by two non-regional members, Germany with 7.4% and the US with 5.5%, according to a memorandum sent to governors on 20 August and seen by Bloomberg.
Nigeria boosted its voting power by paying subscriptions it had pledged as part of a general capital increase, the bulk of payments for which is expected to be made before the final October 2021 deadline.
The move may allow Nigeria to help keep Akinwumi Adesina in the presidency for another five-year term when the vote takes place tomorrow, 27 August.
Capital boost
Unlike in 2015, when he faced off against the Chadian finance minister, Kordjé Bedoumra, and Cape Verde’s agriculture minister, Cristina Duarte, Adesina is currently the sole candidate.
The annual meetings will take place virtually. They were postponed in May because of the spread of the coronavirus.
“The format of the meetings has been adapted to consider the physical constraints imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic,” AfDB said.
During the meetings, governors of the bank are expected to receive updates on a range of developments since the previous annual meetings, held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea in June 2019.
This will include the bank’s seventh general capital increase, which the board of governors approved in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire on 31 October 2019, and which increased the bank’s capital base by a historic $115 billion to $208 billion.
The governors will vote on 27 August to elect the eighth president of the bank.
Adesina, the first Nigerian to hold the post, was elected for a five-year term on 28 May 2015 by the bank’s board of governors during that year’s annual meetings, held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
Investigations
In July, an independent panel backed an investigation by the AfDB which found no evidence of malfeasance against Adesina in his effort to seek re-election as head of the AfDB.
The decision was equally a rebuff to the US Treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, whose refusal to accept the original report by the bank’s ethics committee led to the probe.
The inquiry was initiated after unidentified whistleblowers accused Adesina of awarding contracts to acquaintances and appointing relatives to prime positions within the Abidjan-based lender.
In March, the AfDB issued a $3 billion social bond to assist African nations to deal with the fallout of COVID-19. It also launched a $10 billion crisis response facility for African nations.
AfDB’s shareholders comprise 54 African nations and 27 countries in Europe, the Americas, the Middle East and Asia.
* Asaase Radio 99.5 – tune in or log on to broadcasts online.
#asaaseradio
#TVOL
