BREAKING! Nigeria's Adesina Wins AfDB Presidency

Dr Akinwunmi Adesina

Akinwunmi Adesina, Nigeria’s minister for agriculture and rural development, has been elected the eighth president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), GRAPHITTI NEWS reports. He defeated seven other candidates in a keenly-contested election, which lasted more than four hours. 

Earlier AFP had reported "The bank has had a 10 good years, but the key now is to stay in the game," said one AfDB executive director. "We have to be relevant and do that by doing the things that other (commercial and development) banks can't."

"Some shareholders would say they want a continuity of Kaberuka and others want to see the bank take the next step," said Bobby Pittman, a former vice president at the bank who now heads Africa-focused investment firm Kupanda Capital. 

The Abidjan-based bank, which was founded in 1964 to provide capital to foster economic development and alleviate poverty in its member states, is financed by both Africa nations and shareholder countries outside the continent. Kaberuka will step down in August after serving two five-year terms, the limit for a president.

The bank estimates that Africa needs annual infrastructure investment of around US$100 billion for the next decade.