By Adedapo Adesanya
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has endorsed the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Mr Akinwunmi Adesina, for a second term in office ahead of next year’s election.
This was made known by a communique released at the end of the 56th ordinary session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS, held in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, on Saturday.
“In recognition of the sterling performance of Mr Adesina during his first term of office as President of the lender, African Development Bank, the Authority endorses his candidacy for a second term as the President of the bank,” ECOWAS said in a communique issued after the meeting.
Following his election on the May 28, 2015 by the bank’s Board of Governors at its Annual Meetings in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, the former Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture became the eighth elected president of the AfDB on September 1, 2015.
Another election is scheduled to hold next year at the headquarters of the organization located in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.
Mr Adesina, who was also present at the summit, spoke to the group about the African Development Bank’s investments in the West African region where he noted that several projects were ongoing.
“You can always count on the African Development Bank – your Bank,” Mr Adesina assured delegates.
On his part, the ECOWAS President, Mr Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, commended the bank’s involvement in West Africa and said it had provided invaluable technical and financial interventions needed in the implementation of numerous projects and programmes across the region.
The ECOWAS summit included a progress report on the region’s economic performance. It praised the role of the African Development Bank in the continent’s transformation and called for greater cooperation in order to fund projects in West Africa.
“The Authority takes note of the region’s improved economic performance, with ECOWAS real GDP growing by 3.3 percent in 2019 against 3.0% in 2018, in a context characterised by a decline in inflationary pressures and sound public finances.
“It urges the Member States to continue economic reforms and ensure a sound macroeconomic environment in Member States, with a view to accelerating the structural transformation of ECOWAS economies and facilitating the achievement of the monetary union by 2020,” the statement read in parts.
The Authority also commended efforts made on the single currency and monetary policy in ECOWAS and laid out plans to advance the movement.
These efforts are a key part of the regional integration agenda championed by the African Development Bank, as represented by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which it says is intended to become the world’s largest free trade zone.
