AfDB appoints 3-man panel to review allegations against Adesina

Boards of Governors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) has appointed a 3-person committee constitute a High-Level Panel of Independent to review the report of the Ethics Committee of the Boards of Directors relative to the allegations made by Whistle blowers against the President of the Bank Group, Akinwumi Adesina.

The committee is headed by the former President of the Republic of Ireland, Mrs. Mary Robinson. She, among other numerous global and national responsibilities, is the Chairperson of the Elders, a global body of wise persons concerned about the wellbeing of the world.

Another member of the committee, Justice Hassan B. is a former Attorney General and Minister of Justice of the Republic of the Gambia as well as a former Justice of the Supreme Court of the Gambia.

In 2003 he was appointed as a Judge of the Appeals Chamber of the Special Court for Sierra Leone and later that year as the Prosecutor of the United Nations’ International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). On 5 February 2017, Justice Jallow was sworn-in as the Chief Justice of the Gambia.

Leonard F. McCarthy, the third member is a former Director of Public Prosecutions, a former Director for the Office of Serious Economic Offences, and a former Head of the Directorate of Special Operations of South Africa.

He served as the Integrity Vice President of the World Bank for nine years. Mr. McCarthy is currently the President of LFMcCarthy Associates, Inc., an integrity risk management company based in Washington, D.C, USA.

While expressing its utmost trust and confidence in the Panel’s ability to successfully carry out the assignment, the Bureau said it expects the panel to submit its report to the Bureau within a period of two to four weeks maximum.