Former African Development Bank (AfDB) president Akinwumi Adesina has offered to contribute to Nigeria’s development in any capacity President Bola Tinubu considers appropriate, insisting that he is not seeking a public appointment.
Adesina spoke to journalists on Tuesday after meeting Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, where he formally informed the president of the completion of his 10-year tenure at the bank.
He said the meeting also provided an opportunity to brief Tinubu on the AfDB’s achievements during his leadership, including its financial support for Nigeria.
“It’s customary and it’s required that I come back home to tell His Excellency, the President, of the completion of my term and also to give him a report of what was achieved during my term,” he said.
AfDB invested $7bn in Nigeria under Adesina
Adesina said the AfDB provided approximately $7 billion in financing to Nigeria between 2015 and 2025, representing about 63 per cent of the $11.1 billion the bank had financed in the country since beginning operations in 1971.
“So within ten years we were able to do 63 percent, literally, of that,” he said.
According to Adesina, Tinubu welcomed the bank’s contributions, while their discussions also covered Nigeria’s economic direction and the next steps needed to translate reforms into sustained growth.
Adesina backs Tinubu’s economic reforms
The former AfDB president said he commended Tinubu for removing the petrol subsidy and harmonising the foreign exchange (FX) windows, describing the measures as difficult but necessary reforms.
“These are very, very important, difficult reforms, but they are beginning to bear some fruits, quite some fruits,” he said.
Adesina said foreign exchange availability had improved, portfolio investors were returning to the country and inflation was trending downwards.
“If you look at it, you have a lot more FX available today. You have a lot of portfolio investors that are coming into the country. You have inflation trending downwards,” he said.
“Prices are still a bit high, but inflation is trending downwards.”
He also cited changes in international rating agencies’ assessments of Nigeria, including stable and positive outlooks.
However, Adesina said the country must move beyond economic reforms and stabilisation towards structural transformation, stronger economic growth and prosperity.
“You have to also now move from the issue of the reforms and stabilisation straight into structural transformation and also growth and prosperity, which is what the President is focusing on,” he said.
‘My heart is always at home’
Adesina said he remained willing to support Nigeria in any role Tinubu considered suitable, stressing that his offer was driven by a sense of responsibility rather than a desire for public office.
“My heart is always at home. And in any capacity that His Excellency feels I can help, I can help in anything,” he said.
He added: “I have a duty, an obligation and a responsibility to do so. And I will.”
Adesina’s offer follows the completion of his decade-long leadership of the AfDB, during which the bank significantly expanded its financing to Nigeria, according to the figures he presented.
