Still mired in the crisis dodging its President, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, the African Development Bank is once again grappling with the sudden resignation of its Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development, Dr. Jennifer Blanke, who suddenly put in her resignation and will be leaving the Bank effective July 4, 2020. Blanke joined the Bank in early 2017 and has overseen a number of the Bank’s key programs.
Giving reasons why she is leaving, Dr. Blanke said that she expresses gratitude to President Akinwumi Adesina for his strong leadership, guidance and support which have undoubtedly motivated and helped my team and I to play a key role in the transformation of the Bank. “I feel privileged to have been given an opportunity to contribute to the Bank’s agenda for accelerating Africa’s social and economic transformation,” Blanke said, adding that “I am leaving purely for family reasons to rejoin my family in Switzerland, after a very fulfilling time at the Bank. I will miss the Bank and the excellent team we have built. I will continue to strongly support the Bank from wherever I am.”
Responding to the news, the Bank’s President, Akinwumi Adesina said that “I have been delighted to work with Dr. Jennifer Blanke over the past three and a half years. She has demonstrated genuine leadership skills and moved the needles on so many fronts, especially in the areas of food security, women’s financial empowerment, and job creation. I wish her all the best and look forward to continued partnerships and engagement with Jennifer.”
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It could be recalled that Dr. Adesina has been mired in series of investigations after a group of whistleblowers’ wrote to the Bank’s Board of Directors calling for investigations into what they termed as official infractions by the Bank’s President. The President responded to the allegations calling it a hatchet job by elements who are working against Africa’s development. The initial investigations by the Board were rejected by the United States Government forcing the Bank to invite an external investigator to look into the earlier submission. However, African leaders, and many African institutions have thrown their weights behind Adesina.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry