*Says Nigeria will work with other leaders, stakeholders to ensure Adesina's reelection

President Muhammadu Buhari has said Nigeria will stand solidly behind Dr Akinwumi Adesina in his bid to get re-elected as President of the African Development Bank (AfDB).

In a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media, Mr. Femi Adesina, President Buhari said, "In 2015, when you were to be elected for the first term, I wrote to all African leaders, recommending you for the position.

The statement said the President pledged that Nigeria would work with all other leaders and stakeholders in AfDB to ensure that Dr Adesina was elected for a second term built on the record of his achievements during his first term.

The statement noted that African Union had already endorsed the incumbent AfDB President as sole candidate for the continent, but some other stakeholders were trying to ensure that Dr Adesina was re-investigated on some allegations, and rendered ineligible to run.

I was exonerated, and any other investigation would amount to bending the rules of the bank, to arrive at a predetermined conclusion," Dr Adesina was quoted as saying

Stressing that the motive was to soil his name, and that of the bank, the statement stated that the AfDB President said he was proud to be Nigerian, and thanked President Buhari for his unflinching support.