Adesina revealed this at the launch of the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) in Nigeria in Abuja on Monday.

This is as a coalition of 28 groups consisting of Youth Arise Movement, Nigerians in Diaspora One Nigeria Group, Prudent Youth Association of Nigeria, women groups, farmers, people with disabilities and other civil society groups, raised the N100 million fee to purchase the forms for the former minister.

The coalition is led by the Head, One Nigeria Group, Mohammed Saleh.

The payment acknowledgement slip exclusively seen by our correspondent on Saturday carried Adesina’s name as the recipient of the forms.

In a post on his Twitter page on Saturday, the former minister of Agriculture noted that as the continent continues to advance her development, Nigeria’s leadership and that of the President Muhammadu Buhari are crucial.

He tweeted, “I was delighted to meet my President, H.E. President ⁦@MBuhari of the Federal Republic of Nigeria at the African Union Summit of Heads of State and Government. Nigeria’s leadership and that of H.E. President ⁦@MBuhari are crucial as we advance Africa’s development.”

Meanwhile, Buhari had earlier at a sideline meeting with the Prime Minister of Palestine, Mohammad Shtayyeh, at the ongoing African Union meetings in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, reiterated Nigeria’s commitment to continue pursuing peace and progress in Africa.

Aside from Nigeria, he said he would work in ensuring peace and progress in other parts of the world, by consistently pushing for justice, fairness and inclusiveness in global affairs.

The President assured that the country remains unwavering in supporting democracy, development and good governance, particularly in ensuring the rights of individuals and institutions

“As a country we are doing our best, and we will continue doing our best to ensure justice and fairness,” Buhari said.

According to data obtained from the Debt Management Office, Nigeria’s commitment to the banks rose by $7.11bn from 2015 to 2021, an increase of 98.48 per cent. The data shows that as of June 30, 2015, the Federal Government had borrowed a total sum of $6.19bn from the World Bank.

A breakdown of the world bank’s loans to Nigeria shows that a greater part of the loans was obtained from the International Development Association, an arm of the World Bank that specialises in giving concessional loans to poor and fragile countries.

The IDA commitment to Nigeria amounted to $6.09bn.

Another member of the World Bank Group, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, had a commitment of $94.80m in the country.

Also, the AfDB commitment to Nigeria stood at $946.52m, comprising loans from various internal bodies such as the African Development Bank ($350m) and African Development Fund ($596.53m).

By March 31, 2021, the Federal Government’s debt to the World Bank had risen to $11.51bn, reflecting a $5.32bn or 86 per cent increase.

The debt included loans of $11.10bn and $410.23m from the International Development Association and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development respectively. With a commitment of $11.51bn, the World Bank is responsible for 35.02 per cent of Nigeria’s foreign portfolio of $32.86bn as of March 31, 2021.

During the same period, the Federal Government acquired $1.59bn from the AfDB, $0.21m from Africa Growing Together Fund and $942.51m from ADF. As of now the AfDB’s commitment to the country is $2.74bn, representing 8.3 per cent of the country’s total external debt.

The data break down also shows that Nigeria is currently indebted to the following agencies: Export-Import Bank of China, with a portfolio of $3.40bn; the Exim Bank of India, with a portfolio of $34.95m; the Agence Française de Développement, with a portfolio of $486.6m; the Japan International Cooperation Agency, with a portfolio of $74.6m; and Germany, with a portfolio of $183.7m.

He said this while representing the AfDB President, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, as a panellist at an investors’ webinar to showcase the investment opportunities in Nigeria’s privatisation and economic reform programme on Tuesday.

Barrow noted that the recovery in crude oil prices, increase in the Value Added Tax rate to 7.5 per cent and elimination of fuel subsidies would provide some fiscal relief for the Nigerian economy.

He said, “Fiscal risks are likely to remain elevated in the medium-term due to high dependence on oil receipts, weaknesses in non-oil revenues (less than four per cent of GDP) and high debt service payments (exceeding 60 per cent of federally retained revenues) amidst spending pressures. Besides the uncertainties associated with the pandemic, other downside risks to the medium-term growth outlook include fiscal pressures – (fiscal and current account deficits and financing); persistent (food) inflation; insecurity and high levels of unemployment, which has increased to 33.28 per cent (and especially youth unemployment – estimates range from 38 to 42.5 per cent). The poverty headcount has increased, with approximately five million more Nigerians likely to have been pushed into poverty in 2020. High unemployment and income inequality (35.1 per cent in 2020) pose significant challenges to government’s objective to lift 100 million people out of poverty by 2030”.

Buhari’s congratulatory message was contained in a statement issued on Tuesday, by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, titled “President Buhari hails AfDB President, Akinwumi Adesina, on clearance by an independent panel”.

The President, however, urged Dr Adesina to remain steadfast, dedicated and resolute in pursuing his noble goals for the institution, especially with the now expected second term in office, assuring him of the prayers and support of Nigerians.

The statement read, “President Muhammadu Buhari warmly rejoices with President of the African Development Bank, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, on the clearing of all allegations against him by an anonymous group, and further validation of his competence and integrity to lead the institution.

“President Buhari congratulates AfDB Board of Directors, the Ethics Committee and members of staff for their courage, maturity and patience in following through the process of investigations, and acceptance of Report of Panel of High-Level Independent Experts, which reviewed the Report of Ethics Committee of AfDB, and Dr Adesina’s response.

“The President commends the eminent personalities, consisting of Mary Robinson, Justice Hassan B. Jallow and Leonard F. McCarthy, who handled the review of the report of the Ethics Committee, and their professionalism in rejecting support services, and providing a unanimous report.

“President Buhari believes the conclusion of the review should finally draw a curtain on the allegations that created distractions for the entire institution for a period, and serve as impetus for more diligence in handling responsibilities while fuelling the zeal to deliver on the promises of a greater Africa.

“The President urges Dr Adesina to remain steadfast, dedicated and resolute in pursuing his noble goals for the institution, especially with the now expected second term in office, assuring him of the prayers and support of Nigerians.”

The board of governors reached the decision on Thursday June 4, in spite of sitting and former African leaders’ campaign for the bank to ignore the call for an independent investigation of allegations against Adesina as he has already been cleared by the bank’s ethics committee.

In a communique signed by the Chairperson of the bank’s Bureau of the Boards of Governors Niale Kaba, it was gathered that the independent review will be carried out by a neutral high calibre individuals with unquestionable experience, high international reputation and integrity within a short time period of not more than two to four weeks maximum.

It reads “The Bureau reiterates that it agrees that the Ethics Committee of the Boards of Directors performed its role on this matter in accordance with the applicable rule under Resolution B/BG/2008/11 of the Board of Governors. The Bureau also reiterates that the Chairperson of the Bureau of the Board of governors performed her role in accepting the findings of the Ethics Committee in accordance with the said Resolution. However, based on the views of some Governors on the matter and the need to carry every Governor along in resolving it, the Bureau agrees to authorize an Independent Review of the Report of the Ethics Committee of the Boards of Directors relative to the allegations considered by the Ethics Committee and the submissions made by the President of the Bank Group thereto in the interest of due process. The Independent Review shall be conducted by a neutral high calibre individual with unquestionable experience, high international reputation and integrity within a short time period of not more than two to four weeks maximum, taking the Bank Group’s electoral calendar into account. The Bureau agrees that, within a three to six month period and following the independent review of the Ethics Committee Report, an independent comprehensive review of the implementation of the Bank Group’s Whistle-Blowing and Complaints Handling Policy should be conducted with a view to ensuring that the Policy is properly implemented, and revising it where necessary, to avoid situations of this nature in the future.”

Adesina was cleared of allegations of embezzlement, preferential treatment of Nigerians in senior appointments and promoting people accused or found guilty of fraud and corruption by an ethics committee of the bank, however, the US Treasury Department dismissed it and also wrote a letter urging the AfDB to carry out an independent investigation into the alleged ethics breaches by the bank’s President.

The Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed reacting to this, appealed to the chairman of the Board of Governors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) to dismiss the call for an independent investigation of Adesina.

The letter reads in part “The call for an ‘independent investigation’ of the President is outside of the laid down rules, procedures and governing system of the bank and its articles as it relates to the Code of Conduct on Ethics for the President. As Board of Governors (made up of the finance ministers of member countries), we must uphold the rule of law and respect the governance systems of the bank. If there’s any governance issues that need improvement, these can be considered and amendments proposed for adoption in line with laid down procedures. The Nigerian Government welcomes the conclusion of the Ethics Committee and the decision of the Chair of the Board of Governors. The Ethics Committee, following three months of work to examine the whistleblowers’ allegations made against the President, dismissed each and every one of the allegations of the whistleblowers against the President as unsubstantiated and baseless”

Akinwunmi, while speaking at an event in Lagos, commended President Buhari for nominating him for re-election for a second term as president of the bank.

He said “When asked by former President Goodluck Jonathan to serve as Minister of Agriculture, it was duty calling me to the land of my birth. I served Nigeria to the very best of my ability. I thank God that Nigeria’s agriculture sector witnessed a much-needed transformation at the time. With the strong support of President Jonathan and the then President elect, Buhari, we campaigned very hard for the position of the President of the African Development Bank. It was a Nigeria effort, as all hands were on deck. This included our former presidents and heads of state, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, Olusegun Obasanjo, former Vice Presidents Atiku Abubakar and Namadi Sambo, and of course my dear indefatigable sister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who ran a spirited campaign for me. By God’s grace, I was elected President of the African Development Bank on May 28, 2015, exactly 24 hours after my term of office as Minister ended. The nation jubilated as I became the first-ever Nigerian to be elected President of the bank since its establishment in 1964. Once again, Nigeria gave me air in my lungs. At the African Development Bank, we have worked very hard. In my four years as President, we have connected 16 million people to electricity, provided 70 million people with improved agricultural technologies to achieve food security. We have also given nine million people access to finance from private sector companies, provided 55 million people with access to improved transport, and 31 million people with access to water and Sanitation. In all, 181 million people have directly benefitted from our investments. I am proud of all my staff and the Board of Directors whose hard work and relentless support have helped make this happen. The African Development Bank has continued to maintain its global AAA rating. Last year, the bank was rated the 4th most transparent institution globally. There is still much to do. We have gone some way climbing the steep mountainside of Africa’s development, yet there is still much way to go until we reach the mountaintop. Nigeria again is giving me air in my lungs, to keep on climbing. I wish to immensely thank and appreciate President Buhari for nominating me for e-election for a second term as President of the African Development Bank and for being such a wonderful champion and supporter of my re-election’.