The African Development Bank (AFDB) has made plans to meet this week in Ivory Coast to elect a new president.
Candidates from South Africa, Senegal, Zambia, Chad, and Mauritania are pushing to replace outgoing President Akinwumi Adesina, a Nigerian.
Naija News understands that Adesina is scheduled to step down in September after serving the maximum of two five-year terms.
The winner of the election must obtain 50.01% of the votes of the bank’s 54 African member states, and in a second ballot of all 81 members, including non-African ones.
The result will be announced on Thursday. The largest development finance institution is owned by 54 African states and G7 nations such as the U.S. and Japan, with Nigeria being its largest shareholder.
A new president will be elected at a time when the U.S. federal government seeks to cut $555 million in funding to the AfDB and its African Development Fund (ADF).
One of the hurdles the new president will face is convincing the U.S. to restore financing, seeking additional funds from non-regional members of the bank such as China or Gulf states like Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates in exchange for greater influence, or asking African states to contribute more, founder of Development Reimagined, an Africa-focused consultancy, Hannah Ryder, told Reuters.
“This is going to be a major task, and it is effectively the new president’s first test,” said Ryder.
A lecturer at Makerere University’s business school in Kampala, Fred Muhumuza, also told Reuters that the meeting is expected to discuss the implications of current global events arising from the Trump administration.
“Many of the key contributors have been cutting bilateral support to African countries,” Muhumuza added.
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