Obasanjo Breaks Silence On United States' Attempt To 'Ridicule' AfDB Over Adesina

Nigeria's former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has urged the board of the African Development Bank, AfDB, to ignore calls by the United States for an independent investigation of the bank's President, Mr. Akinwumi Adesina.

The elder statesman, in a letter, addressed to Chairwoman of the AfDB’s board of governors, Niale Kaba, advised that the bank should follow laid down processes to protect and preserve the bank and not pander to foreign interest. 

AllNews reports that Adesina was recently accused by a group of unidentified whistleblowers of handing contracts to acquaintances and appointing relatives to strategic positions at the AfDB.

Following the allegation, the board of the Abidjan-based lender asked its ethics committee to probe Adesina. The committee after its findings, “totally exonerated” Adesina form the allegations of favoritism.

But in a letter to to Kaba dated May 22, the US through its Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin rejected findings by the bank’s ethics committee and plans to end an investigation into its president. Washington rather demanded an independent probe into allegations against Adesina.

Part of the letter read, “The United States received your letter of May 5, in which you share your view that the board of governors of the African Development Bank should adopt the conclusions of the bank’s ethics committee and declare that the president is “totally exonerated of all the allegations made against him".

“Our constituency cannot make such a declaration at this time. We have deep reservations about the integrity of the committee’s process.

“Instead, we urge you to initiate an in-depth investigation of the allegations using the services of an independent outside investigator of high professional standing. We emphasize that undertaking an independent evaluation of facts, at any stage, is not at odds with a presumption of innocence.

“We fear that wholesale dismissal of all allegations without appropriate investigation will tarnish the reputation of this institution as one that does not uphold high standards of ethics and governance.

“This is a serious risk when we need strong confidence in the AfDB to play an influential role in the current global economic and health crisis, and when many shareholders are seeking legislative support for payments under the recently-concluded general capital increase.

“Therefore, the United States cannot support dismissing the allegations at this stage. We believe the board of governors must demonstrate that this institution takes governance, anti-corruption, and transparency seriously.

“We thus request that you take steps to initiate an impartial, independent investigation into these allegations. Whatever the outcome, the AfDB will emerge stronger for having taken seriously its obligations to uphold good governance.”

Reacting to the development in his letter, Obasanjo said: “Unfortunately, the US government, through the US treasury secretary, has written a public letter (that was also distributed to the press globally) to disagree with the conclusions of the ethics committee of the board of directors and the chairman of the board of governors of the bank.

"Instead of accepting the exoneration of the president of the bank, they called for an independent investigation.

“This is outside of the rules, laws, procedures and governance systems of the bank. The US treasury secretary disparaged the bank and ridiculed the entire governance system of the bank which has been in place since 1964.

“This is unprecedented in the annals of the African Development Bank Group. If we do not rise up and defend the African Development Bank, this might mean the end of the African Development Bank, as its governance will be hijacked away from Africa.”

Obasanjo made it clear that it is “critical” to emphasise the need for the AfDB to remain an “African-focused development bank rather than one which serves interests outside Africa".