Nigeria's Agriculture Minister Elected Head of the African Development Bank
4 June 2015
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He wants it, and it shows. He's in a hurry, and he doesn't hide it. With an energetic step, a smile on his lips enhanced by his blue bow tie and elegant attire, Akinwumi Adesina heads towards the stage of the Abidjan Ivoire Hotel's congress hall in Ivory Coast, Thursday, May 28.
This 55-year-old Nigerian, Minister of Agriculture since 2011 in Goodluck Jonathan's outgoing government, is now a key figure in the world of international finance. Moments earlier, he was elected president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), the most important financial institution in Africa ($100 billion in capital), whose main objective is to eliminate poverty on the continent. This pan-African financial institution invests more than 6 billion euros annually in health, infrastructure, and renewable energies.
American-style Campaign
Elected in the sixth round of voting with 58% of the vote, Akinwumi Adesina faced seven formidable opponents, ministers or former finance ministers of their countries, such as the Chadian Kordjé Bedoumra (31% of the vote), the Cape Verdean Cristina Duarte (10%), the Tunisian Jalloul Ayed, the Ethiopian Sufian Ahmed, the Sierra Leonean Samura Kamara, or former senior officials of the institution: the Zimbabwean Thomas Zondo and the Malian Birama Boubacar Sidibé (current vice-president of the Islamic Development Bank).
"They [had] to meet the same challenges: restructuring the bank...
www.lemonde.fr
This 55-year-old Nigerian, Minister of Agriculture since 2011 in Goodluck Jonathan's outgoing government, is now a key figure in the world of international finance. Moments earlier, he was elected president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), the most important financial institution in Africa ($100 billion in capital), whose main objective is to eliminate poverty on the continent. This pan-African financial institution invests more than 6 billion euros annually in health, infrastructure, and renewable energies.
American-style Campaign
Elected in the sixth round of voting with 58% of the vote, Akinwumi Adesina faced seven formidable opponents, ministers or former finance ministers of their countries, such as the Chadian Kordjé Bedoumra (31% of the vote), the Cape Verdean Cristina Duarte (10%), the Tunisian Jalloul Ayed, the Ethiopian Sufian Ahmed, the Sierra Leonean Samura Kamara, or former senior officials of the institution: the Zimbabwean Thomas Zondo and the Malian Birama Boubacar Sidibé (current vice-president of the Islamic Development Bank).
"They [had] to meet the same challenges: restructuring the bank...
www.lemonde.fr
