Former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has hailed Dr. Akinwumi Adesina’s decade-long leadership of the African Development Bank (AfDB), describing it as “ten remarkable years of visionary service.”
Osinbajo, who witnessed Adesina’s inauguration in 2015, returned to the AfDB headquarters in Abidjan on Monday to mark his final day in office. He recalled standing on the same podium ten years ago when Adesina took over as the bank’s president, a role that reshaped Africa’s development finance landscape.
“Today, a decade later, I returned to the same podium to celebrate his final day in office after ten remarkable years of visionary leadership at the Bank,” Osinbajo said.
He was joined by an array of Nigerian dignitaries, including Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, Minister of State for Finance, who represented President Bola Tinubu; Alhaji Idi Mukhtar Maiha, Minister of Livestock Development; Governors Seyi Makinde of Oyo and Caleb Muftang of Plateau; and Ogun State Deputy Governor, Noimot Salako-Oyedele. Also present was the Oniru of Iruland, Oba Abdulwasiu Omogbolahan Lawal, a former Lagos Commissioner for Agriculture.
The event, hosted by Adesina’s wife, Yemisi, was marked with tributes to his legacy. Adesina, a former Nigerian agriculture minister, steered AfDB through some of Africa’s toughest economic challenges, from pandemic shocks to food insecurity, while launching initiatives on energy, infrastructure, and youth empowerment.
Adesina, whose tenure was extended after a unanimous re-election in 2020, is credited with strengthening the bank’s financial position and pushing for a more self-reliant Africa.
With his exit, attention now shifts to who will succeed him and how the AfDB will sustain the momentum of his reforms.
