* I’ve not stepped down as president- Embattled helmsman

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has succumbed to pressure from the United States (US) Government by directing a new and independent probe of the bank’s president, Akinwumi Adesina, Daily Trust reports. But Adesina yesterday issued a statement saying he is still the president of the continental development financial institution, insisting that he is innocent of all the allegations levelled against him by a whistle blowing team at AfDB.

Credible sources within AfDB told the Daily Trust yesterday that Adesina hasn’t been officially told that he would be probed by an external body. “Adesina would have to step aside if the probe would be carried out…This is what the law says, but I want to assure you that he has not been officially informed that he would be subjected to external scrutiny.

“May be they would inform him any moment from now, the case is actually snowballing and is dicey,” one of the sources said. The board of AfDB decided to go for an independent probe after the U.S. Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, openly rejected the decision of the bank’s ethics committee that cleared Adesina of all the allegations brought against him by some whistle blowers.

According to a monitored report from Bloomberg, inside sources who want to remain anonymous said that the AfDB, which is Africa’s largest multilateral development financial institution, gave in to the request of the U.S. Government, by ordering an independent investigation into the activities of Adesina.

It is believed that many other foreign governments such as Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland supported the U.S. treasury’s stand on the matter.

The U.S. Government, in its letter to AfDB’s board of directors, appeared convinced that the ethics committee of the bank did not do a proper preliminary investigation in line with standard practices in the other international multilateral financial institutions and the bank’s own rules and procedures. But other sources said Adesina is only being haunted by some forces led by the U.S.

Government because of his “pro-African stand” when it comes to decision making. Mnuchin had raised concerns that the wholesale dismissal of all the allegations against Adesina without appropriate investigation might tarnish the reputation of the financial institution.

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/go-and-face-probe-afdb-tells-adesina.html

And if he comes out clean what next

Let them probe him

Snake has got hands inside