Former President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, has said he is ready to serve Nigeria in any capacity, following a closed-door meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the State House in Abuja on Tuesday.
Adesina, who completed two five-year terms leading the AfDB in September 2025, said he was not seeking a job or political appointment.
However, he described his return to Nigeria as a matter of national obligation, telling reporters: “It’s my country. I have a duty, an obligation and a responsibility to do so, and I will.”
During the meeting, Adesina briefed Tinubu on the bank’s performance during his tenure and its support for Nigeria.
He said the AfDB provided roughly $7 billion in financing to Nigeria from 2015 to 2025—about 63% of the $11.1 billion the institution has extended to the country since it began operations there in 1971.
Adesina, 66, became the AfDB’s eighth president in 2015 and was the first Nigerian to lead the institution.
He previously served as Nigeria’s minister of agriculture from 2011 to 2015. His successor is Sidi Ould Tah.
The former bank chief also endorsed Tinubu’s economic overhaul, including the removal of fuel subsidies and the unification of foreign-exchange windows.
He said investor interest was improving and inflation was trending lower, though prices remained elevated for many Nigerians.
Still, Adesina cautioned that macroeconomic stabilization is only an early phase.
Nigeria, he said, must now shift toward structural transformation, growth and broad-based prosperity.
“I told the President, I’m back at home, here to help and ready to help,” he said.
At a farewell event in Abidjan last year, Tinubu praised Adesina’s decade-long leadership and credited his “High 5” agenda with advancing growth and food security across Africa.
