• Thursday, March 28, 2024
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BusinessDay

BREAKING: Special AfDB committee clears Adesina of any wrongdoing

Akinwumi Adesina

The special Committe set up by governors of the African Development Bank AfDB has cleared Dr Akinwumi Adesina, the bank’s president of any wrong doing in a wrong saga that has gripped the institution.

The committee chaired by former Irish President Mary Robinson sent in it findings yesterday, saying
“It has considered the President’s submissions on their face and finds them consistent with his innocence and to be persuasive.”

In a key finding, the Mary Robinson committee said, “As a preliminary matter, the Panel notes that it appears that the confidentiality of the Bank’s procedures was compromised by virtue of the fact that both the allegations made by the whistle- blowers (the anonymous “Group of concerned Staff Members) in their complaints and the response of the President have found their way into the public domain.

“This is unfortunate. Under the Whistle Blowing and Complaints Handling Policy of the Bank, public disclosure of fraud, corruption or misconduct is prohibited prior to use of the procedures set out in the policy (see Section 6). It is notable that the whistle-blowers were themselves careful to protect their anonymity.

“The Ethics Committee carefully maintained the confidentiality of their procedures.”

The special committee was set up after pressure from the US government to set aside the submission of the bank’s ethics committee which exonerated Dr Adesina.

BusinessDay has seen a copy of the report and will publish more details shortly.