The President-Elect, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Tuesday lobbied the Economic Community of West African States to support the candidacy of Nigeria’s Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina as the next president of the African Development Bank.
The president-elect communicated his backing of Adesina’s candidacy to the visiting Ghanaian President, John Dramani Mahama, who is the current chairperson of the ECOWAS.
This was contained in a statement by the Director of Media, All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Organisation, Malam Garba Shehu, in Abuja.
According to the statement, Buhari said his support for the minister’s candidacy was not due to the fact that he is a Nigerian but because “Dr. Adesina has a proven track record in a career that predates his position as Nigeria’s Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development”.
He added that Dr. Adesina had years of experience of working in Francophone and Anglophone countries, and a passion to help eradicate poverty in Africa by reducing unemployment and inequality among African youth.
The statement further adds that “Dr. Adesina is also an agricultural development expert with 24 years of experience in developing and managing successful agricultural Programmes across Africa”.
Until his appointment as the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development in 2011, Adesina was the Vice President, Policy and Partnerships Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa.
He has also held senior leadership positions in a number of agricultural institutions in the world.
