Buhari Appoints Directors For AfDB, IsDB

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday approved the appointment of Dr Oyebode Oyetunde as Executive Director for Nigeria at the African Development Bank in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, confirmed the development in a statement titled “President Buhari approves appointment of Dr Oyebode Oyetunde as Executive Director for Nigeria at AfDB.”

It was disclosed that Oyetunde was the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Finance and Fiscal Policy as well as Legal Matters in the Office of the Chief of Staff to President before his appointment, on Tuesday

He was also a Special Adviser (Fiscal Policy) to the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning.

He is a Chartered Accountant and a fiscal policy tax expert with 24 years of experience in investment banking.

Oyetunde is taking over from Dr Bright Okogu, whose tenure will come to an end at the bank on May 15, 2021, having served as a two-time Executive Director.

The statement read, “The position of the Executive Director in AfDB is strategic as it affords Nigeria the opportunity to be in the forefront when key policy decisions are taken regarding the African region.”

“Reacting to the appointment, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, thanked the President for considering Dr Oyetunde for the exalted position.”

President Buhari also approved the appointment of Dr Mahmoud Isa-Dutse as Executive Director on the Board of Islamic Development Bank in Jedda, Saudi Arabia.

His appointment was contained in a separate statement by Shehu.

It read, “President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Dr Mahmoud Isa-Dutse as Executive Director on the Board of Islamic Development Bank in Jedda, Saudi Arabia.”

“Dr Dutse is the immediate past Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning. He has enormously interacted with development partners and international financial institutions during his tenure as Permanent Secretary. He is quite familiar with the modus operandi of multilateral institutions such as IsDB and he is well respected in those institutions.

“During his tenure as Permanent Secretary, he represented Nigeria on Boards of Governors/Directors of African Export-Import Bank, Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries Fund for International Development, World Bank, African Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank, ECOWAS Bank for Investment, Central bank of Nigeria, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, and Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, among others.”

“The position of Executive Director on the Board of IsDB is non-residential (part-time). Executive Directors travel to attend Board meetings quarterly or as determined by management to consider critical policy issues.”

“Before his appointment as Permanent Secretary, Dutse was the Acting Chairman and subsequently a Non-Executive Director of the Emerging African Infrastructure Fund. He is a renowned banker with 23 years of vast experience in the financial sector, having graduated in Economics with an MBA and PhD in Business Administration.”

“Dr Dutse is taking over from Alhaji Shuaibu Gambo who was appointed on 1st July 2011 and has held the position for about 10 years.”

“The new Executive Director is expected to bring to the Board new ideas, innovations and contribution and provide Nigeria with opportunity for a voice to demand and access additional resources from the Bank.”