Former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo, and the Nigerian Minister of Finance, Ms Zainab Ahmed , criticize and reject the request of the United States of America (USA) who are pressuring the African Development Bank (AfDB) to open a new independent investigation against the president of the bank, Akinwumi Adesina.

For their release, Obasanjo and Zainab Ahmed, in separate letters, said that the independent investigation does not respect the bank's rules.

Critique et appel d'Obasanjo

In his position in this case, Obasanjo wrote that what the US Treasury Secretary wants is outside the "laws, procedures and governance systems of the Bank".

In order to stand together against the US initiative for a new investigation, Obasanjo has taken a step to bring together former African leaders to issue a joint statement rejecting the US request for a new investigation after the The bank had exonerated Adesina of the allegations of certain whistleblowers.

In sharply criticizing the US request, the former Nigerian President said that the US Secretary of the Treasury has denigrated and ridiculed the Bank's entire governance system and warned that if leaders do not stand up to defend the  BAD  "This could mean the end of the African Development Bank because its governance will be diverted from Africa."

As a solution to this case at the top of AfDB, Obasanjo proposes that African leaders consult and collectively issue a statement to support the procedures established to assess the allegations against the President of the Bank and recommend that the Board of Governors and the Committee of Governors #39;Bank ethics hold firmly through their process and results.

Position of the Nigerian Minister of Finance

The Nigerian Minister of Finance has, in another letter, addressed to the Chair of the Board of Directors of the AfDB, Ms Kaba Niale, stated that once the Ethics Committee exonerated Adesina from the whistleblowers' allegations, it is superfluous to open another investigation.

Ms Zainab Ahmed ruled that "the Ethics Committee has conducted and completed its work in accordance with the rules, laws, procedures and guidelines set out in the Governing Council resolution. This resolution invites the Ethics Committee to submit its report and supporting documents to the Chair of the Governing Council."

Pour tout, Zainab Ahmed urged the board to reject the call for a new investigation as it goes against the bank's governance rules.

At the origin of this case, the United States, one of the main shareholders of the AfDB, call for a thorough independent investigation after whistleblower denunciations. The crisis that has emerged concerns a series of violations of recruitment, remuneration and procurement rules.

Akinwumi Adesina, is a former Nigerian minister and the only candidate of Africa for the post of President of the European Union.  BAD. His candidacy was approved by ECOWAS and the African Union. He is initially expected to be re-elected for a second term on 29 May. The election is postponed until the end of August.