AfDB Group: Mauritanian, Sidi Ould Tah, replaces Nigeria’s Adesina Akinwunmi as President.

The election took place at the AfDB Group headquarters in Abidjan, Cote d`Ivoire, last week. The Ivorian Minister of Planning and Development, Niale Kaba, announced the results. 

He said voters comprised Finance and Economy Ministers or Central Bank Governors of the Bank Group’s 81 regional and non-regional member countries. Disclosing that the Board is the highest decision-making authority for the Bank Group.

In what looked like a display of his satisfaction, the Ivorian minister announced that Tah is coming into the position with over 35 years of experience in African and international finance. 

He served as President of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, BADEA, for 10 years from 2015, where he led a full transformation that quadrupled the Bank’s balance sheet, secured a AAA rating, and positioned it among the top-rated development banks focused on Africa.

The incoming AfDB boss also held Ministerial positions in his home country. He was Minister of Economic Affairs and then as Minister of Finance. 

He also played senior roles in multilateral institutions and has led crisis response, financial reform, and innovative resource mobilization for Africa.

The Board of Governors Steering Committee had received and approved a total of five candidates by the closing date of January 31, 2025, deadline and the list of candidates was officially announced on February 21, 2025.

The other candidates in the election were; Amadou Hott from Senegal, Samuel Maimbo from Zambia, Mahamat Abbas Tolli from Chad and Bajabulile Swazi Tshabalala from South Africa.

Tah will assume office on September 1, 2025, for a five-year term. The Governors noted that the election of the new president comes at a crucial time in the Bank Group’s six decades of existence. 

Africa has remained resilient despite climate shocks, economic disruption, and a shifting geopolitical landscape, but needs to move faster or risk falling behind on delivering on the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals, summed up in the Bank Group’s High 5’s.

The 2025 Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank Group took place from May 26 to 30 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, under the theme: “Making Africa’s Capital Work Better for Africa’s Development”.

The African Development Bank Group comprises three entities: the African Development Bank, the African Development Fund and the Nigeria Trust Fund. 

Its shareholder countries include 54 African countries or regional member countries, and 27 non-African countries or non-regional member countries.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3462 of Monday June 02, 2025