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Re-Elected AfDB President To Be Sworn-In On Tuesday

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Joel Ajayi

The re-elected President of the African Development Bank, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, will be sworn-in on Tuesday, September 1, for another five-year term.

The ceremony, according to the AfDB in a statement on Monday will be held virtually at 9am.

Dr Adesina, Nigeria’s former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, was re-elected last week after getting a hundred percent votes of all regional and non-regional members of the Bank.

The election took place on the final day of the 2020 Annual Meetings of the multilateral bank held virtually, and the Chairperson of the Board of Governors of the Bank, Mrs. Niale Kaba, Minister of National Planning of Côte d’Ivoire announced his victory, making him the first Nigerian to be elected and re-elected to serve as the bank’s President.

Dr Adesina’s first term in office focused on new agenda for the Bank Group based on five development priorities known as the High 5s: Light up and Power Africa; Feed Africa; Industrialize Africa; Integrate Africa; and Improve the Quality of Life for the People of Africa

During his initial 5-year term, the bank was able to impact the lives of 335 million Africans, including 18 million people with access to electricity; 141 million people benefiting from improved agricultural technologies for food security; 15 million people benefiting from access to finance from private investments; 101 million people provided with access to improved transport; and 60 million people gaining access to water and sanitation.

In his speech after the announcement, Dr Adesina said, “I am deeply grateful for the collective trust, strong confidence and support of our shareholders for electing me for a second term as President. It is yet another call for selfless service to Africa and the African Development Bank, to which I will passionately devote myself.”

Dr Adesina was able to weather the storm of favoritism, corruption, and other allegations after an independent Review Panel cleared him of any ethical wrongdoings.

The Panel, chaired by a former President of the Republic of Ireland, Mary Robinson, was set up by the Bureau of Governors of the Bank, following a complaint by the United States, to review the process by which two previous organs of the Bank – the Ethics Committee of the Board, and the Bureau of the Board of Governors – had previously exonerated Adesina.

In January this year, Dr Adesina was accused of ethical misconduct by a group of whistle-blowers on 16 allegations, which was reviewed by the Bank’s Ethics Committee of the Board of Directors in March and described the allegations as frivolous and without merit

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Agriculture

Shaping youths’ perception of Agriculture through Agrovest reality TV show

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Joel Ajayi

The Agrovest reality Television show initiative aims to influence and change the way young people think about agriculture, redirecting a positive mental attitude .

Reality TV shows are TV programs where ordinary people are filmed in real life situations rather than actors.

Shaping ,implies molding or forming a new perspective of Agriculture on the minds of youths will go a long way in bringing about a change of attitude among young people.

Dr Emmanuel Abuhson ,CEO Tremma Agro Limited and the initiator of the Agrovest reality Television show says Agrovest reality TV show seeks to challenge negative stereotypes and misconceptions about agriculture among young people and showcase the exciting and rewarding aspects of agriculture.

One thing that stands out for the show is the trend of making agriculture attractive to the youths while giving them a positive and constructive perception of agriculture .

Abuhson said this during a stakeholder meeting held in Abuja that the word Agrovest has been coined from two word meaning Agro from agriculture and vest from investment (Agrovest) .

37 boisterous young Nigerians would be selected from the 36 states and will be competing for a 60-day periods in a Agrovest reality TV show between the ages of 18 to 40.

He said that each of the 36 states, including the Federal Capital Territory, will have one representative each. Which will make a total of 37 boisterous young Nigerians that will be competing in the
Agrovest reality TV show.

He said Agrovest is an edutainment TV reality show’s that its objective is to change the narrative in the agricultural sector.The show is a comprehensive agriculture training, advocacy and mentoring program delivered on an entertainment platform.

“These representatives from each state will showcase creative ways of exploring the agriculture industry, commercial insights and more .

“ The representative from each state will live and work together as a team on various agricultural chores that would be given to them during the competition.

“ This is where the commodities association comes in ,they will be training the participants on various agriculture commodities and will also form part of the judges to select who emerges the winner(s)as the case might be,” he said.

He also said that the selected participants will be required to complete all of these duties tasks over the course of the 60 days period and the winner will walk away with a N20 million cash reward and other consolation prizes that we will shortly disclose soon.

“ The idea is an effort to support our efforts in the food sector, innovation, and food security narratives across the country, shifting old viewpoints and making agriculture really appealing. Thereby gaining youth participation in agriculture,” he added.

“ This is in alignment with the President’s vision to ensure food security and the food crisis we have in all over the world.

“ I commend the support and commitment of the stakeholders including the Ministry of Agriculture and all our partners who are working day and night to make this project a reality.

The Presidents of various commodities including soursop, bamboos ,sesame were present at the first stakeholders meeting held in Abuja.

The Office of Senior Special Assistant
to the President on Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation ( HAPA) are in Collaboration with AgroVest TV Reality show.

Others partners are the Ministry of Agriculture, commodity association and other agriculture stakeholders across the country and globally.

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