Akinwumi Adesina, president of the Africa Development Bank has been cleared of all corruption charges by an independent review panel led by former president of Ireland, Mary Robinson.
Recall that earlier this year, it was alleged that the bank had been tarred by poor governance, impunity, personal enrichment and favouritism under Adesina’s leadership. In spite of Adesina’s insistence of being innocent and also being cleared of the charges by an ethics committee of the bank, the US insisted on an independent investigation with the North American country’s treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin saying that they have ” deep reservations about the integrity of the committee’s process”.
Adesina who is the sole candidate for the bank’s upcoming election, has now been cleared of same charges by an independent review panel. It was further gathered that the evidence provided by Adesina in his own statements before the panel, were found to be “consistent with his innocence and to be persuasive”.
The panel wrote in its report;
“The panel concurs with the committee in its findings in respect of all the allegations against the president and finds that they were properly considered and dismissed by the committee.
“It took proper note of the criteria laid down for evaluating complaints and the sufficiency of supporting evidence.
“It consulted PIAC and the auditor-general. It engaged in discussion and debate of each individual complaint and reached a consensus on the outcome. It applied the correct standard and prepared a report for submission to the chairperson of the bureau of the board of governors”.
This has now cleared way for the Nigerian-born finance expert who is seeking a second term in office.
