The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwunmi Adesina, on Thursday debunked a purported report linking him to Nigeria’s presidential bid in 2027.

New Telegraph gathered that Adesina was reported to have hinted at contesting for the presidency in 2027 in a recent interview.

However, the AfDB President has denied the media reports, noting that he never said he wanted to contest for president.

In a post clarifying his statement on his X handle, Adesina said his interview was misinterpreted and misrepresented in several Nigerian media reports.

“A segment of my recent interview on Arise TV has been both misinterpreted and misrepresented in several Nigerian media outlets.

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“What I said was, “I will be available to serve in any capacity, globally, in Africa, anywhere, including my own country.”

“A listen to the substantive and robust interview, which is available online, will show this to be the case. For clarity and for the record, I did not say that I am running for the office of President of Nigeria,” Adesina said.

Meanwhile, this is not the first time Adesnia whose tenure as the AfDB president comes to an end in May 2025 will distance himself from Nigeria’s presidential race.