NO FRESH PROBE OF ADESINA, AfDB BOARD RULES

The Bureau of the Board of Governors of African Development Bank (AfDB) on Thursday foreclosed the possibility of reopening the probe of the bank’s President, Dr Akinwumi Adesina.

At a meeting, the body declared that an independent investigation was not required as demanded the United States of America and upheld the decision of the Ethics Committee in favour of Adesina.

Instead, an independent reviewer will take a look at the process by which the Ethics Committee reached its determination on Adesina’s behalf.

The secretariat concluded that the Board of Governors had fully fulfilled its obligations in accepting the findings of the Ethics Committee in accordance with the said Resolution.

In a communique signed by Chairperson of the Bureau of Government, Ms Niale Kaba, “the Bureau agrees to authorize an Independent Review of the Report of the Ethics Committee of the Boards of Directors relative to the allegations considered by the Ethics Committee and the submissions made by the President of the Bank Group thereto in the interest of due process.

“The Independent Review shall be conducted by a neutral high calibre individual with unquestionable experience, high international reputation and integrity within a short time period of not more than two to four weeks maximum, taking the Bank Group’s electoral calendar into account.

“It also decided to embark on an independent comprehensive review of the implementation of the Bank Group’s Whistle-Blowing and Complaints Handling Policy should be conducted with a view to ensuring that the Policy is properly implemented, and revising it where necessary, to avoid situations of this nature in the future within a three to six month period and following the independent review of the Ethics Committee Report.