President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwunmi Adesina, has denied all the allegations of wrongdoing leveled against him by some staff of the bank.
In January, some staff of the AFDB had accused Adesina of 20 breaches of the bank’s code of conduct, including “unethical conduct, private gain, an impediment to efficiency, preferential treatment, and involvement in political activities”.
The bank’s ethics committee carried out an independent investigation headed by Takuji Yano and cleared Adesina, insisting he was not guilty on all counts. The US Treasury which owns the largest non-African stake in the bank, disagreed with the outcome of the independent investigation of the bank and has called for a full-scale investigation.
In a statement released today May 27, Adesina insisted he was innocent of the allegations against him, adding that they were brought up to tarnish his reputation.
“In recent weeks and over the last few days especially, I have been overwhelmed by the tremendous support received from around the world. I have absolute confidence in the integrity of the bank that I lead and its governance systems, rules and procedures”.
In spite of unprecedented attempts by some to tarnish my reputation and prejudice the bank’s governance procedures, I maintain my innocence with regard to trumped up allegations that unjustly seek to impugn my honor and integrity, as well as the reputation of the African Development Bank” his statement read
Adesina who worked at the Rockefeller Foundation and was one time Minister for Agriculture, said he is confident that it will be proven in the end that he has not violated any of the bank’s Code of Ethics.
“I draw great inspiration from my heroes, Nelson Mandela and Kofi Annan, whose lives have shown that through pain we grow. As Martin Luther King Jnr. once said, “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice. I am confident that fair, transparent and just processes that respect the rules, procedures and governance systems of the Bank, and the rule of law, will ultimately prove that I have not violated the Code of Ethics of this extraordinary institution,” his statement read.