President of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, has pledged the support of the continental financial body for the Bola Tinubu administration.

Mr Akinwunmi made the commitment in a tweet shortly after meeting the Nigerian leader in France on Friday.

“I had a great meeting with President Tinubu during the new global finance pact summit in Paris,” Mr Adesina tweeted. “I was impressed by his commitment to bold & sound policies for Nigeria’s economy.” 

“The African Development Bank will strongly support his vision for the Nigerian economy. @officialABAT, ” the African bank chief promised.

Mr Adesina’s statement comes after former World Bank president, David Malpass, lauded the decision of the Tinubu government to end the fuel subsidy regime and scrapping dual exchange rates, saying it would help  reduce corruption in Nigeria.

Mr Tinubu assumed office on May 29, declaring an immediate end to fuel subsidy. 

“Subsidy is gone,” Mr Tinubu said in his inaugural speech, a development which saw fuel prices skyrocket from N195 to N540. 

A week after he assumed office, Mr Tinubu also ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria to float the naira, allowing banks to determine exchange rates to the dollar and other foreign currencies subject to market forces. 

Amid these developments, the president has suspended CBN governor Godwin Emefiele and EFCC chair Abdulrahseed Bawa and ordered investigations into their respective tenures.

Mr Tinubu also signed a student loan law to allow eligible students in higher institutions access loans for their education, albeit with stringent, nearly unachievable conditions.

His policies and actions so far have been applauded by analysts as welcome developments. However, Nigerians are left suffering the impact of fuel subsidy removal without palliatives. 

Mr Tinubu continues to appeal to Nigerians to endure consequences of the sudden fuel subsidy removal.