The immediate past President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwunmi Adesina, has offered to support Nigeria’s development in any capacity, saying he is back home and ready to help.
Adesina made the remarks while briefing State House correspondents after meeting President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Tuesday, October 27, 2026.
He said the meeting provided an opportunity to brief the president on his tenure at the AfDB and the bank’s support for Nigeria during that period.
Adesina said he was willing to contribute to Nigeria’s development wherever his experience and expertise could be useful. He stressed that his offer was driven by a sense of duty to his country rather than a search for a government appointment.
He also acknowledged that the economic reforms introduced by Tinubu’s administration were beginning to yield results but said the gains needed to be followed by a stronger focus on structural transformation and economic expansion.
Asked in what capacity he could support Nigeria, given his international experience, Adesina said he was prepared to serve wherever the president considered his contribution useful.
Adesina said Nigeria’s international perception had improved, pointing to developments in foreign exchange availability, portfolio investment and inflation as indicators of progress.
He described the reforms as difficult but said they were beginning to produce results, while acknowledging that prices remained high.
He added that rating agencies had assigned Nigeria stable and positive outlooks, which he cited as evidence of a change in how the country was viewed internationally.
He added that the next phase should focus on translating stabilisation gains into structural transformation, economic growth and prosperity.
Adesina also briefed Tinubu on his 10-year tenure as AfDB president, which ended after two terms, and the development finance institution’s support for Nigeria during that period.
He said the bank provided about $7 billion in financing to Nigeria between 2015 and 2025, compared with $11.1 billion in total financing since it began operations in the country in 1971.
In August 2027, Adesina revealed that the AfDB and its partners had mobilised $2.2 billion to implement the second phase of the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) initiative across 24 states in Nigeria.
A former Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Adesina said the initiative would support food security, boost domestic production and create thousands of jobs.
