Dr Blanke, who joined the bank in 2017, said she is leaving purely for family reasons and her resignation is not related to the present quagmire of the president.

She said “I am leaving purely for family reasons to rejoin my family in Switzerland, after a very fulfilling time at the bank. I will miss the bank and the excellent team we have built. I will continue to strongly support the bank from wherever I am.

“I thank President Akinwumi Adesina for his strong leadership, guidance, and support which have undoubtedly motivated and helped my team and I to play a key role in the transformation of the bank.

“I feel privileged to have been given an opportunity to contribute to the bank’s agenda for accelerating Africa’s social and economic transformation.”

It will be noted that the U.S Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, had called for an independent probe into allegations by a group of whistleblowers against the AfDB President, Akinwumi Adesina thereby rejecting plans by the bank’s board to stop the investigation on the issue.