Former African Development Bank (AfDB) President, Akinwumi Adesina has told President Bola Tinubu that he is ready to work for his country.

He made the remark after a visit to the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Tuesday, during which he also commended the administration’s economic reforms.

Adesina, who completed two five-year terms as head of the continental lender, said the visit was partly to brief the President on the outcome of his decade-long leadership of the bank and to discuss its support for Nigeria.

He said the AfDB provided about $7 billion in financing to Nigeria between 2015 and 2025. By his account, that is roughly 63 per cent of the $11.1 billion the bank has committed to the country since it began operations there in 1971. He said the President was pleased with the bank’s interventions and the results recorded during his tenure.

Adesina is a former Minister of Agriculture and has kept a close working relationship with successive Nigerian governments. He has previously pledged AfDB support for Tinubu’s agriculture agenda, including a youth entrepreneurship investment bank for Nigeria. Earlier this month, he delivered the keynote at the maiden Seyi Tinubu Colloquium in Lagos. There he argued that Africa’s young population is an asset, not a liability, if governments invest in education, skills and entrepreneurship.

No appointment has been announced, and the reports on the visit do not say he was offered or is seeking any particular role in government. Still, his declaration has already set off a wave of reaction on social media, with some users urging the President to give him a worthy position in the administration.

The meeting comes as the Presidency continues to promote its economic reform programme, which Tinubu says is beginning to change Nigeria’s economic fortunes.