Akinwumi Adesina elected 8th President, African Development Bank

Nigeria’s outgoing agriculture minister Akinwumi Adesina on Thursday won the vote to become the new president of the African Development Bank, official results showed.

Adesina, 55, will succeed Rwandan Donald Kaberuka, bank chief for two consecutive terms since 2005, at a time of economic transformation in the continent.

He was elected after six rounds of voting, beating the finance ministers of Cape Verde and Chad to the role.

A total of 80 AfDB shareholders — 54 African states and 26 non-African countries — took part in the vote in Abidjan, which saw eight candidates vying for the presidency.