Mustapha Chike-Obi has been Appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari as Nigeria’s Special Envoy to the United States.
Chike-Obi, was a former Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).
Mr Chike will bring his wealth of experience on board to settle the ongoing rancour between stakeholders of the African Development Bank (AfDB), and the American government.
Recall that President of AfDB, Akinwunmi Adesina has had its smooth reemergence as President scuttled by some vested American interests in the bank.
He initially had corruption allegations hanging over his head but investigations have found him clean, with the Americans rejecting it and asking for another investigation.
Buhari’s choice of Chike-Obi to act as a Special Envoy is to plug the loopholes in communications or interests that may be currently existent.
His appointment was contained in a document from the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, dated 30th June 2020 according to the Daily Times.
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Chike-Obi‘s appointment as Nigeria’s Special Envoy to the Government of the United States of America was with immediate effect and continues through 31 August 2020.
MCO, Chike-Obi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from University of Lagos (first-class honours) and an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
He was the pioneer Managing Director of AMCON from 2010- 2015. Prior to AMCON, Mr Chike Obi magnified his career in Financial Services in the United States of America.
Although, he had previously worked at Goldman Sachs and founded Madison Park Financial Advisors. Mr Chike Obi was hired in 2010 by former governor of The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido, who entrusted him to manage the banking sector intervention project with the main objective of purchasing Non-Performing Loans (NPL) from commercial banks, re-capitalising the loans to sell off at lucrative bargains.
Meanwhile, former Vice Presidents of the AfDB have supported Adesina’s call for an independent inquiry into the allegations against him.
In a statement, they said:
“We welcome the President’s statement of 27 May 2020 indicating that he is not opposed to an independent enquiry: As he said: “l am confident that fair, transparent and just processes that respect the rules, procedures and governance systems of the Bank and the rule of law will ultimately prove that I have not violated the Code of Ethics of this extraordinary institution.” Such a perspective will honour him and, in turn, bolster his prospects for possible re-election”
“More generally, we believe that Africa’s political commitment to good governance is well established. Therefore, Africa must, in all its initiatives, compel the world’s respect in terms of transparency; ethics, and compliance with established rules.
“This is a requirement for optimal mobilization of its abundant internal resources (see the Report of the High-Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa, headed by President Thabo Mbeki, the Former President of South Africa). It is also a necessary condition for a fruitful partnership with the rest of the world”, they said.
(C) Control TV 2020.
