After AfDB Tenure, Adesina Offers to Help Tinubu Drive Nigeria’s Growth

Former President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, has declared his readiness to contribute to Nigeria’s development in any capacity deemed appropriate by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, while clarifying that he is not seeking a government appointment.

Adesina made the declaration on Tuesday after meeting Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, where he briefed the President on his 10-year tenure at the continental development finance institution and its financial support for Nigeria.

The former AfDB president said his willingness to serve was motivated by patriotism and a sense of responsibility to his country, rather than a desire to secure a political position.

“I’m fully able to help Nigeria in any capacity. I’ve always had that. My heart is always at home,” he told journalists after the meeting.

He added that he was prepared to contribute wherever the President considered his experience and expertise useful.

“In any capacity that His Excellency feels I can help, I can help in anything. I’m not looking for a job. I’m not looking for anything. I’m just here to help,” Adesina said.

“It’s my country. I have a duty, an obligation and a responsibility to do so, and I will.”

Adesina briefs Tinubu on AfDB achievements

Adesina explained that the visit was an opportunity to formally inform Tinubu that he had completed his two terms as AfDB president and to present an account of the bank’s achievements during his leadership.

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He said the bank provided approximately $7 billion in financing to Nigeria between 2015 and 2025, compared with total financing of $11.1 billion since it began operations in Nigeria in 1971.

According to him, the financing provided during his decade at the helm represented approximately 63 per cent of the bank’s cumulative support to Nigeria over the period.

Adesina said Tinubu expressed satisfaction with the bank’s contributions and the projects supported during his tenure.

The former Nigerian minister of agriculture led the AfDB from 2015 until September 2025, completing two terms as the institution’s president. He was the first Nigerian to occupy the position.

Adesina commends Tinubu’s economic reforms

During the meeting, Adesina also commended Tinubu’s economic reforms, particularly the removal of the petrol subsidy and the harmonisation of foreign exchange windows.

He described the measures as difficult but important decisions, arguing that they were beginning to produce results in some areas of the economy.

According to him, foreign exchange availability had improved, portfolio investors were returning to the country, and inflation was trending downwards.

However, he acknowledged that prices remained high, meaning many Nigerians continued to face pressure from the cost of living.

Adesina also cited improved assessments from some international credit-rating agencies, which he said reflected changing perceptions of Nigeria’s economic outlook.

Despite these developments, he cautioned that economic stabilisation was only the beginning of a broader transformation process.

“You have to also now move from the issue of the reforms and stabilisation straight into structural transformation and also growth and prosperity,” he said.

He argued that Nigeria must now focus on translating economic reforms into stronger productivity, expanded economic opportunities and improved living standards.

Former AfDB chief urges focus on growth and prosperity

Adesina’s remarks place emphasis on the need to move beyond macroeconomic adjustments towards policies that deliver tangible benefits for households and businesses.

His comments come amid continuing debate over the impact of the Tinubu administration’s reforms, including the removal of fuel subsidies and changes to the foreign exchange market.

While the government has defended the measures as necessary to stabilise public finances and improve economic efficiency, higher living costs have remained a concern for many Nigerians.

Adesina did not announce any specific government role he was prepared to take up, and the Presidency did not announce an appointment following the meeting.

Instead, the former AfDB president reiterated his willingness to contribute his experience in development finance, agriculture and economic transformation whenever the President considered his services necessary.