A former Liberian President, Ellen Sirleaf is the latest in the list of those congratulating the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwunmi Adesina after he was cleared of corruption allegations levelled against him by an anonymous group.
Sirleaf said the declaration of Adesina as innocent, came as expected, according to a tweet on her official handle, Thursday night.
“We rejoice that, as expected, the AfDB Group President, Akinwumi Adesina, has been declared fully innocent of all accusations by the Independent Panel headed by Mary Robinson,” Africa’s first female president tweeted on Friday morning.
Replying, Adesina, who is the sole candidate for the bank’s August’s presidential elections, wrote, “Thank you very much, Your Excellency, Madam President Ellen Sirleaf for your strong support, confidence and trust. I am humbled and grateful.”
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An independent panel of experts, headed by former Irish president Mary Robinson, on Monday completely cleared Adesina of all charges in an investigation that has spanned seven months.
The panel of three experts also had the Gambia’s Chief Justice Hassan Jallow and the World Bank’s integrity vice president Leonard McCarthy as members.
Dr Adesina became the first Nigerian to helm the AfDB in 2015 — but a 15-page report in January claimed that under his watch the bank had been tarred by poor governance, impunity, personal enrichment, and favouritism.
In May, the Ethics Committee of the Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB), charged with investigating the charges cleared Adesina.
But the United States, which is one of the bank’s biggest shareholders, demanded an independent investigation into the allegations.
The outcome of that investigation was the same – Adesina was exonerated.
“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,” Monday’s report concluded.
Yetunde Adegoke
