AfDB appoints Lamin Barrow as head of Nigeria country office

The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group has appointed Lamin Barrow, a Gambian national, as the new director-general of its Nigeria country office.

The regional bank made the announcement in a statement on Wednesday.

The appointment of Barrow, who joined the bank in 2000, is effective from July 1.

Prior to his appointment, Barrow served as the acting senior director, Nigeria Country Office, in the regional development, integration and business development vice presidency.

Reacting to the development, Akinwumi Adesina, AfDB president, described Barrow as a seasoned professional “with a proven track-record in strategic management, country dialogue, portfolio management, negotiations and building partnerships”.

“The Nigeria Country Office is strategic for the bank, as it manages a large country portfolio and operates with State governments and the private sector,” he said.

“Lamin’s extensive managerial experience, knowledge in operations, and excellent diplomatic skills in government relations at the highest levels, will help to deepen our operations and engagements with the government and partners in Nigeria.”

In his remarks, Barrow said his appointment will offer him an opportunity to further contribute to Adesina’s vision of improving the bank.

“I am grateful to President Adesina for this appointment, which provides a great opportunity to further contribute to his bold vision to position the bank as a partner of choice and deliver on the High-5 strategic priorities in this important Regional member country, which is key to realising Africa’s development aspirations,” he said.

Barrow holds a bachelor of science degree from the University of Ibadan and a masters in economic policy degree from Boston University, USA.

He is also an alumnus of executive programs in finance at the Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania, USA, and investment and risk analysis from Queens University, Canada.

Prior to his career at the bank, Barrow had worked at the Gambia National Investment Board as head of the project development unit, investment promotion division, and division manager, export promotion and development.

He also served as principal economist from 1991 to 1992, policy analysis unit in the office of the president, Republic of The Gambia, before joining the Company for Habitat and Housing in Africa (Shelter-Afrique), where he held various positions between 1994 and 2000.

Since he joined the bank, he has served variously as senior financial analyst, infrastructure department; principal country programme officer, Rwanda Country Office; and resident representative in Ethiopia, overseeing a portfolio of $1.2 billion dollars.

Barrow had served as director, joint secretariat support office of the bank, African Union Commission (AUC) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).

He also served task manager for the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) infrastructure project preparation facility from 2005 to 2006.

As officer-in-charge, he helped to establish and operationalise the bank’s Kenya Country Office from 2006 to 2007.

In 2013, he was appointed manager, operations, technical support and regional approaches in the transition states’ support department.

From 2013 to 2017, he was manager, cabinet office of the president with the rank of director.