African leaders on Tuesday reaffirmed their support for the African Development Bank Group and its leadership, under Dr Akinwumi Adesina, as he began his second five-year term with a renewed mandate to foster sustainable development on the continent.

In goodwill messages to mark Adesina’s inauguration, Nigerian President,  Muhammadu Buhari); Paul Kagame of Rwanda; Alpha Conde of Guinea; George Weah of Liberia; Sassou Nguesso of Republic of the Congo; and Guinea Bissau’s Umaro Embalo commended the bank’s interventions, especially its assistance to member states in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Dr Adesina, you have our full support as you continue to lead the bank through this COVID-19 period, marked by turmoil but also the prospect of new opportunities for our continent,” Kagame said.

Kagame noted that the bank had played a key role in ensuring that Africa’s interests reflected on the international agenda during the crisis.

Adesina, who first took office as the eight elected president of the bank in 2015, was unanimously re-elected by the Board of Governors with a 100 per cent vote at the end of the bank’s 2020 annual meeting on August 27.

For the first time, the meetings were held virtually due to the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 outbreak.

Buhari noted that the unanimity of Adesina’s re-election was a vote of confidence in his leadership and programmes, especially the bank’s High 5 priority agenda.

If diligently implemented, the High 5s would help Africa to meet most of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN, he noted.

“Under your leadership, the bank has made admirable progress and we are confident that this gain will be consolidated and scaled up in the next five years,” Buhari said in a message presented on his behalf by the bank’s governor for Nigeria.

While congratulating Adesina for his overwhelming reelection, President Conde urged him to continue to pursue the High 5s and related policies to provide jobs for the continent’s growing youth population.

President Weah pledged Liberia’s continued partnership with the bank under Adesina’s leadership.