President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, Board of Governors and members of staff of the institution on the historic increase in its capital from $93 billion to $208 billion.
President Buhari, who stated this in a congratulatory message issued by his spokesman, Mr Femi Adesina, in Abuja on Sunday, said this feat had placed the multilateral institution on a stronger pedestal to drive growth and development on the continent.
“President Buhari joined shareholders of the Bank and African Heads of State and governments in celebrating the feat,” the statement said.
According to him, this record clearly demonstrates the quality of leadership at the helm of affairs, and the technical expertise that has been steadily pushing reforms for a smart and nimble institution focused on alleviating poverty.
The president, therefore, felicitated with the leadership of the Bank for the numerous reforms undertaken to reposition the institution for current global realities and the peculiar needs of the African continent.
He commended the ”visionary policies that have started yielding results in providing electricity, financing and modernizing agriculture, encouraging industrialization, integrating Africa and improving the livelihoods of many”.
He noted with delight the historic approval of $115 billion by the Board of Governors, which he said would buoy the Bank’s operations and reach.
President Buhari extolled Adesina for “brilliantly and diligently taking the AfDB to new heights of achievements, and inspiring confidence that, indeed, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the African Union Agenda 2063 are realisable.
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