Buhari, Others Hail Adesina As Sidi Ould Tah Emerges AfDB President

Former President Muhammadu Buhari and other leaders have congratulated Dr Akinwumi Adesina on completing two terms as managing director of the African Development Bank (AfDB).

Buhari said he was happy with the enormous success Dr Akinwumi achieved at the end of his tenure and expressed gladness to have supported his emergence as the bank’s helmsman in the first and second instances.

“I have seen Dr. Adesina, a son of Nigeria, put up a spectacular performance in the African Development Bank after two terms.

“As his tenure ends and a successor emerges, records show that he has set such an excellent, unmatched record of excellence, leaving shareholders far happier than ever. I am pleased with my role in bringing his talent forward,” he said.

The former president emphasised how hard work, discipline, and dedicated training made Dr. Adesina what he is today.

According to him, the outgoing AfDB president “is blessed with a special talent, combined with hope, faith, a firm resolve and confidence, with which he overcame all odds to stand out as a beacon of inspiration to others.”

He wished the outgoing AfDB president greater strength and success in his future endeavours.

Mauritania’s Sidi Ould Tah emerges new AfDB president

Sidi Ould Tah of Mauritania has been elected the ninth president of the AfDB  to succeed Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, whose second tenure as the bank’s chief executive ends in September after 10 years at the helm.

Sidi Tah’s election took place at the Annual General Meeting and meeting of the Board of Governors of the AfDB in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.

Tah’s win was “73 per cent regional and 77 per cent total in the third round of the voting signals.” it was disclosed.

According to reports, Mr Tah not only won 77 per cent of the total votes but was equally endorsed by 73 per cent of the voting delegates from the African region to secure both a regional and international mandate, unprecedented in AfDB’s presidential endorsement.

The three top finalists for the top job were Amadou Hott of Senegal who had 3.55 per cent; Samuel Maimbo of Zambia with 20.26 per cent, and Sidi Tah with                                                              76.18 per cent.

Two earlier shortlisted candidates, Bajabulile Tshabalala of South Africa and Abbas Tolli of Chad, seemed to have lost out in the race to yield to the three finalists.

Mr Tah, who will assume office in September, was until recently the director general of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), which he ran for a decade from 2015. Before then, he was the Mauritanian minister for finance and economy. He worked for about 35 years in international finance and held senior roles in multilateral institutions. He was an expert at the Mauritanian Bank for Development and Commerce (BMDC) from 1984 to 1986, a financial analyst at the Food Security Commission in 1986, and an Investment Promotion Officer, and later the Technical Assistant to the President of the Islamic Development Bank between 1999 and 2006.

Tah has a PhD in Economics from Nice-Sophia-Antipolis University and a DEA (Diplôme d’Etudes Approfondies) in Economics from Paris VII University, France.

Tah has attended executive programmes in Financial Engineering, Asset Management and Leadership at the Harvard Institute for International Development, the London Business School, and the Swiss Finance Institute.

AfDB: Tinubu Hails Sidi Tah’s Election, Reaffirms Nigeria’s Commitment

President Bola Tinubu has congratulated President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani of Mauritania on the election of Dr Sidi Ould Tah as the ninth President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group.

Tah was the former Mauritanian Finance Minister and Director General of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA).

According to a statement by presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu conveyed his good wishes via a telephone conversation from Lagos with the Mauritanian leader on Thursday afternoon, after Tah’s election at the AfDB’s Annual Meeting in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

President Tinubu also commended the transparent process that led to the emergence of the former Mauritanian Finance Minister.

Tah will succeed Dr Akinwumi Adesina of Nigeria, who will step down in September after completing two five-year terms.

President Tinubu said he believed that Dr Tah would bring his wealth of experience to the role, given his track record in former positions.

President Tinubu reaffirmed Nigeria’s strong partnership with the AfDB, emphasising its status as the institution’s largest shareholder among its member countries, comprising 54 African nations and 27 non-African states.

The president restated his commitment to working closely with the incoming AfDB president to advance shared priorities, including infrastructure development, agricultural transformation, energy access, and climate resilience.

Nigeria recently approved a $500 million capital replenishment for the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF) in May 2025, extending the fund’s operations by another 15 years.

Established in 1976, the NTF is a special AfDB fund fully financed by Nigeria to support development projects across Africa.

This renewed commitment underscores Nigeria’s continued dedication to the Bank’s mission of driving inclusive growth and poverty reduction on the continent.

President Tinubu pledged Nigeria’s full support for Mr. Tah in implementing his vision for the institution, including strengthening regional financial institutions, promoting Africa’s economic independence, leveraging population growth for development, and building climate-resilient infrastructure.

President Tinubu thanked the outgoing AfDB President, Dr Adesina, and wished him success in his future endeavours.