My detractors want me out at all cost because of my re-election bid at African Development bank, says Adesina

The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwunmi Adesina, has revealed that move to get him out at all costs was responsible for reasons why United States of America was deliberately pushing for a fresh probe of allegations of impropriety and fraud against him.

Penpushing reports that Adesina added that is also linked to his re-election bid and not as a result of any fraudulent action on his part, having been given clean bill of health by the board of Directors of the bank.

The memo by Adesina  suggested that  the allegations by the “Group of Concerned Staff” may have political undertones linking his bid for re-election in the forthcoming AfDB Presidency elections in August.

Penpushing further reports that, Adesina who maintained innocence accused the petitioners of violating Section 6.7.2 of the Whistle Blowing Policy of the bank by breaching the confidentiality of the proceedings of the matter by making public disclosure of the matter beyond submission to the ethics committee.

The President of African Development Bank accused the petitioners of disclosing their allegations beyond the committee “by acting in concert with others outside the AfDB system”.

“The point about others acting in concert with the whistle-blowers is not speculation. A group of independent Bank staff members apparently wrote a “Disassociation Note” on March 9, 2020, in which they explained that they had been members of a group called “Group of Concerned Staff Members,” namely the whistle-blowers behind the Disclosure, but that they had been “manipulated by a group of non-regional Executive Directors behind Mr (Steven) Dowd, not for the good governance of the African Bank of Development, but to discredit the candidacy of the current President for his re-election,” Mr Adesina said in his memo to the committee.

“Certainly if the Disassociation Note is to be believed, and there is no reason not to believe it, the whistle-blowers’ complaint cannot be considered to be in good faith, because it was not designed to expose fraud, corruption or other misconduct. Instead it had another ulterior motive,” he added.

Penpushing recalled that the ethics committee of the board of directors of the continental bank on May 5 said in its report that  Adesina was not guilty of any of the 16 allegations contained in a petition brought before it by a “Group of Concerned Staff” of the Bank.

The committee headed by Takuji Yano, the institution’s Japanese Executive Director charged with the responsibility of investigating the allegations, described as “spurious and unfounded” claims that Mr Adesina violated the code of conduct of the Bank.

Penpushing also reports that, in its petition sent to the committee on January 19, 2020, the “concerned staff members” alleged Adesina of 16 breaches of the bank’s code of conduct, including “unethical conduct, private gain, an impediment to efficiency, preferential treatment, and involvement in political activities

The copies of the petition were also sent to both the Director of the Integrity and Anti-Corruption office (PIAC) of the Bank, and the Chairperson of the Audit & Finance Committee (AUFI) in line with the Bank’s “Whistleblowing and Complaints Handling Policy”.

The ethics committee between February 4 and April 9,2020  held series of meetings to review documents and presentations as it conducted “preliminary examination” of the allegations against  Adesina to establish whether they were “based on any objective and solid facts” pursuant to Resolution No. B/BG/2008/11.

Penpushing reports that, resolution No. B/BG/2008/11 adopted at the 43rd Annual Meeting of the Board of the Bank held on May 14, 2008 made the Code of Conduct for its Executive Directors and those of the African Development Fund (ADF) also applicable to the President of the Bank Group.

The other documents reviewed during the series of meetings by the committee apart from the petition  included the confidential memo submitted by Mr Adesina detailing his defence of the allegations against him.

Penpushing further reports that, the American Government despite all the facts, which formed the basis of the committee’s submission to the board of governors after its preliminary examination, still expressed “deep reservations about the integrity of the Committee’s process”.

The American Government which is one of the Group of seven nations holding 28 per cent investment grade equity in AfDB in its letter of May 22, 2020 to the Chairman of the Ethics Committee, through the Secretary, Department of Treasury, Steven Mnuchin, faulted the committee’s decision to “totally exonerate”  Adesina of all allegations.

“We have deep reservations about the integrity of the Committee’s process. Instead, we urge you to initiate an in-depth investigation of the allegations using the services of an independent outside investigator of high professional standing. We emphasise that undertaking an independent evaluation of facts, at any stage, is not at odds with a presumption of innocence,” Mnuchin wrote.

“The allegations set out in the whistleblower complaint submitted on January 19, 2020 raise significant issues that all relevant governing bodies of the Bank must handle with the utmost care, using all tools available to them,” he added.

Meanwhile, a review of the confidential memo submitted by  Adesina to the committee on April 8 detailing a point-by-point response to all the 16 allegations, appears to have given an inkling into the possible reasons why the American government is insisting on a fresh and deeper probe into the matter..