African News

Nigeria clinches AfDB Presidency

By  | 28 May 2015 at 21:40 | 1416 views

Despite the valiant efforts and solid support of the government and people of Sierra Leone, Sierra Leone’s Foreign Minister Dr. Samura Kamara and other powerful candidates have lost to fifty-five year old Nigerian Agriculture Minister Akinwumi Adesina (photo) for the position of President of the African Development Bank headquartered in the Ivorian capital of Abidjan where the election took place today.

According to the French news agency Agence-France Presse (AFP), only three candidates were left standing in the final round and they were Akinwumi, the candidate from Chad and the candidate from Cape Verde. Akinwumni won.

Adesina, voted African Personality of the Year by Forbes magazine in 2013, carried out, again according to AFP, significant reforms in Nigeria’s agriculture during the just ended Goodluck Jonathan administration. He succeeds Daniel Kaberuka of Rwanda.

AfDB elections are usually underlined by huge lobbying from powerful entities located north, south, east and west of the continent with sub-regional groupings and linguistic enclaves playing a major role. Non-African external forces also have some influence.

Sierra Leone’s candidate, Dr. Samura Kamara even though highly qualified and experienced for the job, simply could not make it like other equally qualified candidates.

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