₦airaland Forum

"The conspiracy thickens by the day and the US government in conjunction with Banks French connection are not relenting"


It is said that in the game of interest, the only loser is the one who has no one to protect his interest, the one who has no interest.

On May 8, 2015, Akinwumi Adesina won the election for the post of the President of the African Develmaximumopment Bank (AfDB). On September 1,2015, he was sworn in as the 8th president.

Adesina beat seven other contestants, among them Ethiopia’s Minister of Finance Sufian Ahmed, Tunisia’s Finance Minister Jaloul Ayed, Cape Verde’s Finance Minister Christian Duarte and Sierra Leone’s Foreign Affairs Minister Samura Kamara.

It was a feat and Nigerians everywhere celebrated him for it.

Upon his inauguration, he spoke deep-heartedly about the things he would like to do within his tenure, vis; light up and power Africa, feed Africa, integrate Africa, industrialise Africa and improve quality of life for the people of Africa. Put prim and proper, he had a vision to expand opportunities and unlock potentials for countries, women, youth, private sector and the continent.

Everyone believed him. Afterall, he was the man who turned Nigeria’s agricultural sector around and beat it into some form of shape. The bank already had structure and he could do great things with it.

Well, it has been five years since Adesina stepped into that office and, not out of place, he wants a second term. Who wouldn’t? He has not done badly.

Well, given the high-level politics at play, it is not surprising that, suddenly, out of the blues, Adesina is about to get thrown under the bus for not being ethical, according to ‘whistle blowers’ within the bank. According to feelers from that bank’s corridors, it is not what he has done more than how he has gone about it.

First off, the bank’s shareholders are, to put it mildly, powerful men (‘powerful’ being the ‘least’ of the available adjectives, in this case, none could suffice).

Adesina stepped on toes even before he became president of the AfDB, when Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala started the lobbying for him to be given a shot. The shareholders preferred any of Chad’s Bedoumra Kordjé, Zimbabwe’s Thomas Zondo Sakala and Cape Verde’s Cristina Duarte. The choice of Adesina was from far out left and did not sit well with many.

Upon his assumption, three vice-presidents left the bank’s employ; a senior vice-president, vice-president (human resources) and vice-president (infrastructure).

There were enduring grievances. Many. Soon, they began to show up.

In July 2016, Adesina, who was barely a year in office, got his first taste of the feel around the place when the French Treasury pointed out (quite oddly) that “the AfDB’s new president very seldom speaks in French, and uses the language rarely, if at all, when talking about strategic or financial matters”.

For Onukogu Okechukwu, an Ibadan-based lawyer, it was a sign of things to come.

“Even as a teenager growing up, I always knew the AfDB was a French-dominated place and, once Adesina signed in, I knew he was in trouble. This man understands a number of languages, French being one of them. He conducts press conferences in French and converses in the language; yet, you say he that? This whole thing stinks of politics of give-and-take and he could be sacrificed for someone or something.”

According to documents unearthed back in April, Adesina has found himself in hot water for various reasons. These documents, addressed to the Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption (PIAC) and to the presidents of the Ethics Committee and Audit and Finance Committee, accuse Adesina of “various cases of alleged breaches of the Code of Conduct”.

These documents point to departures/resignations, recruitment of staff which they deem “questionable”, as well as contracts awarded in violation of the bank’s statutes and ethics.

According to the documents, Adesina’s coming brought about “unusual managerial style”, the “dominance of impunity and nepotism”, the “chaotic management of human resources” and the “financial waste and lack of budgetary discipline” within the organisation.

According to a political observer, Leo Mefor, the anonymous staff members who blew the said whistle have crafted their move for every stage.

One of the documents points out that two deals, together, valued at “more than $18m” were awarded by the Statistics Department to two information processing experts, one of whom is an internationally renowned expert from New York and the other a Russian national “who is little known outside the relevant circles”.

The anonymous document states that the deals were “fraudulently awarded” based on “fraud investigations and internal audits” which established “the guilt” of one of the bank’s top officials in 2016. The official was, as it happens, supposedly promoted several years later, representing “another example of impunity”, according to French magazine ‘Jeune Afrique’.

Two additional negotiated contracts with a Kenyan firm concern the Human Resources Department and amount to $2.1m, which – according to the document – is 20 times the approved sign-off limit for the manager involved. No disciplinary action seems to have been taken against the manager. Moreover, the authors of the letter were outraged that he left his position at the bank “with a bonus compensation paid by the AfDB”.

Another contract valued at $5.46m awarded by a Nigerian agricultural firm was found to have been approved by the bank (even though the firm did not meet the criteria) and the deal negotiated by a manager of the bank who has direct family ties with Adesina.

The matter was referred to the bank’s ethics committee (PIAC) headed by Paula Santos da Costa, a member of the Portuguese Bar Association.

However, after the committee’s finding and clearing Adesina of any wrong-doing, the staff wrote again, wondering why the Swiss deal was brought before the executive board. They mentioned that there virtually was no ethics committee and no means of holding staff who were liable to unethical conducts responsible for their actions.

“Let us look at this thing objectively,” Mefor started. “If the allegations are right, it means that Adesina may have jumped the gun a few times.Beyond that, there could be an orchestrated attempt to put him to the sword, even if he has been naïve enough to fall for these.

“I look beyond the flying memos and letters and all I see is a booby trap for Adesina. Who are the men and women behind this plot? Why do they want Adesina out? What do they stand to gain? My brother, this is a game of interests and the fact that he is Nigerian does not make it any easier. He can be painted just to get him out. It is sad but, I can assure you that the people who are writing these things may be the ones who back him up at meetings, with votes and, then, go behind to do this. Many of them have been there for eons and have seen presidents come and go. You cannot put anything past them,” he said.

After Adesina was cleared by the AfDB’s ethics board and the issue put to rest, the US Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, rejected plans by the AfDB’s board to end the investigation and called for an independent probe.

But it has not dampened expectations that Adesina will come out clean.

Former director-general of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Arunma Oteh, took to Twitter to declare her support for Akinwunmi Adesina.

“President @AfDB_Group is a man of integrity & a great leader. He remains the best man 2lead Africa’s great institution 4the next 5 years. I was #AfDB Staff17 years – loan officer 4North & West Africa -Treasurer and Group VP [and I know this],” she wrote.

Also declaring his support and praying for things to be resolved amicably was Minister of Finance, Economy and Planning of Equatorial Guinea, Cesar Mba Abogo, who said: “…as a testimony of my support for Dr. Adesina and all the Bank executives who have personally and adversely [been] affected by this situation and unfounded allegations, a few verses penned by John Donne (and popularised by Hemingway) come to mind.

“’No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend’s or of thine own were: any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee’.”

What does Adesina think, though?

When he appeared before the committee on April 8, he told the committee that the document provided “specific facts” to show the allegations did not meet the standards to merit as a “whistle-blower complaint under the terms spelt out in the Bank’s Whistle-blowing and Complaints Handling Policy of January 2007”.

Adesina said the petitioners were not acting in good faith, as a group of independent Bank staff members who confessed to being former members of the ‘Group of Concerned Staff Members,’ wrote a ‘Disassociation Note’ on March 9, 2020.

“The former group members said they were being manipulated by a group of non-regional Executive Directors behind Steven Dowd (who is a representative of the US government at the bank),” to discredit his (Adesina) candidacy.

He told the committee the confession of the former Group members was “sufficient evidence the petition was not to expose fraud, corruption or other misconduct, but for other ulterior motives”.

The fact that Adesina responded to the 16 allegations and finished with “…in summary, every single one of the 16 allegations against me in the Disclosure remains unsubstantiated. I have not violated the Code of Conduct. The Ethics Committee should so find and dismiss the matter” means little to those behind this move to get rid of him.

While it is clear that the some governments have another agenda in this matter, the questions remain: who wants to get rid of Adesina? Are the interests so great that he cannot go another 5-year term? If he was so flawed, why did they let him receive those awards? Why is the Nigerian government looking on without pitching into this? Why is Chief Olusegun Obasanjo silent over the issue; is he aware of the undercurrents? When will Okonjo-Iweala speak up? Have they agreed secretly for Adesina to be thrown under the bus?

Someone wants to state emphatically that Adesina has reached the end of his road, but like he finished in his response to Oteh, “…the African Development Bank is a sterling institution and it shall continue to be so, against all odds…. Africa’s light will always shine. We will continue the race to develop our continent with pride and dignity. We will stay the course and finish the race. It is not yet Uhuru!

https://quicknews-africa.net/afdb-akinwunmi-adesina-and-the-invisible-enemies/

no comment

Adesina said the petitioners were not acting in good faith, as a group of independent Bank staff members who confessed to being former members of the ‘Group of Concerned Staff Members,’ wrote a ‘Disassociation Note’ on March 9, 2020.

“The former group members said they were being manipulated by a group of non-regional Executive Directors behind Steven Dowd (who is a representative of the US government at the bank),” to discredit his (Adesina) candidacy.

The part in bold is obvious even to the blind. The US government in junction with some western powers orchestrated the allegations right from the start. They raised so many irrelevant issues with the hooebthst one would stick. Even if Adesina is cleared by the independent investigation, they will still disagree and come up with more issues.

Sadly, Nigerians cannot even unite behind him not to talk of asking the entire continent to rally round him. The west will continue to dominate and dictate the progress of Africa except we grow some balls and stop them now.

why?

SadiqBabaSani:
no comment

there is nothing like invincible enemy in this west plot to put there puppet and show us they are still African master in reality

mind you there is nothing like French speaking countries having more influence than Nigeria because they are many the reason is that we are brain dead country without purpose

Nigeria is a liability to Africa continent, the issues of Libya is an example for people who are learned

Mrread:
There is nothing like invincible enemy in this west plot to put there puppet and show us they are still African master in reality

Mind you there is nothing like French speaking countries having more influence than Nigeria because they are many the reason is that we are brain dead country without purpose.Nigeria is a liability to Africa continent...

It's a well known fact but that is not a reason for all these imperialist to continue to sabotage Nigeria or the African continent.

Any african leader that is willing to work for the interests of his people will surely suffer persecution from the west. To be the friend of US or any other western country is to deny your people and not work for their interests. When this present govt said Nigerians will pay more for electricity from next year,some of us got angry,called them heartles and even laid curses on them.But what majority don't know is that they said it because they know that's what US govt wants to here before granting them certain request they might have tendered . Nigeria and other Africa countries are not free yet,if not US wouldn't be medling and having final say in our affairs. Akinwunmi must have been working for the interests of Africans,hence the persecution he's facing.

Even after the explicit allegations we still want to blame imaginary enemies.. Adeshina brought this upon himself with mindless cronyism ..I thought he was different from the average Nigerian leader but seems I have been wrong on this . We need to do better

seunmsg:
......Sadly, Nigerians cannot even unite behind him not to talk of asking the entire continent to rally round him. The west will continue to dominate and dictate the progress of Africa except we grow some balls and stop them now.

If only your likes will do same when Nigerians other than your kinsmen are being unjustly accused with yet to be established prove of criminality as you did in the case of Allen Onyema back then.

seunmsg:
He should go to the US and clear his name.

It have been proven that the allegation were false as the alleged money-laundering deals were genuine transactions sealed even in the US embassy in Nigeria.

Kemi Adeosun forged NYSC certificate but you lots defended it with the ruling party even saying it's not corruption.Everyone knows how it ended.Same pattern follows for the govt lopsided anti-corruption fight.

We all know Akinwunmi present predicament is being instigated by the West but choose to follow a circumspect approach to the unfolding event.This should be the mindset and not the overtly biased and hypocritical condemnation that always follow when your own is not involved.

All this na cock n bull story.
Adesina should get down n do the dirty work of politicking to same himself if he believe he is being witch hunted. If there are imaginary enemies. Hashing him. Like Yoruba are chasing Igbos from. Gaining Biafra he should tackle them head on instead of wailing while he watch his imaged tarnished. Play the politics or get out its that simple.

opportunities12:
https://quicknews-africa.net/afdb-akinwunmi-adesina-and-the-invisible-enemies/

seunmsg:
The part in bold is obvious even to the blind. The US government in junction with some western powers orchestrated the allegations right from the start. They raised so many irrelevant issues with the hooebthst one would stick. Even if Adesina is cleared by the independent investigation, they will still disagree and come up with more issues.

Sadly, Nigerians cannot even unite behind him not to talk of asking the entire continent to rally round him. The west will continue to dominate and dictate the progress of Africa except we grow some balls and stop them now.

Why is that no hausa or fulani man is declaring support for yoruba brother Adesina, I thought you guys are in political alliance? Why is that only it is only Ibos (whom you love to hate) like Okonjo, Arunma etc that are supporting him?

Fulani diplomats like Ibrahim gambari, Aisha mohammed have all abandoned him but Ibo diplomats are trying to save his hide.

Would you yorubas do the same if an Ibo man was on that hot seat right now? We have past records to show how you yorubas have slandered Ibo technocrats and diplomats. We saw it in the Onyema case, where you specifically declared him guilty and asked him to surrender to the FBI. I think the Ibos should mind their business and let water find it's level on this issue.

The powers that want him out are bigger than Nigeria or West Africa as a whole and the Ibo should not stand in the way. Our heads will not be used to break coconut for the benefit of you yorubas who are morally deadened with anti-Ibo hate in your hearts.


Let's hit the nail on its head properly.

Top1gun:
All this na cock n bull story.
Adesina should get down n do the dirty work of politicking to same himself if he believe he is being witch hunted. If there are imaginary enemies. Hashing him. Like Yoruba are chasing Igbos from. Gaining Biafra he should tackle them head on instead of wailing while he watch his imaged tarnished. Play the politics or get out its that simple.

I can't see any reference to Yoruba chasing Igbo in this write up. Just wondering the reason for the reference to it.

opportunities12:
I can't see any reference to Yoruba chasing Igbo in this write up. Just wondering the reason for the reference to it.

Those with functional brain are able to relate what I wrote. You are free to request a refund from you headmaster if u like.

[s]

AhoadaRivers:
Why is that no hausa or fulani man is declaring support for yoruba brother Adesina, I thought you guys are in political alliance? Why is that only it is only Ibos (whom you love to hate) like Okonjo, Arunma etc that are supporting him?

Fulani diplomats like Ibrahim gambari, Aisha mohammed have all abandoned him but Ibo diplomats are trying to save his hide.

Would you yorubas do the same if an Ibo man was on that hot seat right now? We have past records to show how you yorubas have slandered Ibo technocrats and diplomats. We saw it in the Onyema case, where you specifically declared him guilty and asked him to surrender to the FBI. I think the Ibos should mind their business and let water find it's level on this issue.

The powers that want him out are bigger than Nigeria or West Africa as a whole and the Ibo should not stand in the way. Our heads will not be used to break coconut for the benefit of you yorubas who are morally deadened with anti-Ibo hate in your hearts.


Let's hit the nail of its head properly.

[/s]

Here is one of the allegations against him.

That he appointed one of your sisters.

Can you see the name Chinelo there?

I'm sure tribalism has clouded your sight that you missed it.

He never asked for your help in the first place, so I don't know why you are frothing at the mouth.

Top1gun:
Those with functional brain are able to relate what I wrote. You are free to request a refund from you headmaster if u like.

I can identify your type from a million mile away. You don't worth the stress, absolutely makes no sense engaging a bigot faceless loony. Save yourself the energy of quoting back because you ain't gonna get a response.