Nigeria almost doubled its voting rights in the African Development Bank to 16.8% before the lender’s annual meetings this week, as one of its own seeks re-election to the top post.

Africa’s most populous nation is now the biggest rights holder by far, followed by non-regional members Germany with 7.4% and the U.S. with 5.5%, according to a memorandum sent to governors on Aug. 20 and seen by Bloomberg.

Nigeria boosted its voting power by paying subscriptions it had pledged as part of a general capital increase, for which the bulk of payments are expected to be made before the final October 2021 deadline.

The move may allow Nigeria to help keep Akinwumi Adesina in the presidency for another five-year term when the vote takes place on Aug. 27. Unlike in 2015, when he faced off against Chadian Finance Minister Kordje Bedoumra and Cape Verde’s Agriculture Minister Cristina Duarte, Adesina is currently the sole candidate.

The annual meetings will take place virtually after they were postponed in May because of the spread of the coronavirus. The election of the president and meetings of the lender’s board of governors are the main topics set down for the two-day online gathering, which begins on Wednesday.

Last month, an independent panel backed an African Development Bank probe that in May said it found no evidence of wrongdoing by Adesina, 60, clearing the way for his bid to seek re-election as head of the continent’s biggest multilateral lender.

The probe was initiated after unidentified whistleblowers accused Adesina of handing contracts to acquaintances and appointing relatives to strategic positions at the Abidjan-based lender.

In March, the lender issued a $3 billion social bond to help African countries deal with the fallout from the pandemic. The bank also launched a $10 billion crisis-response facility for African nations. Its shareholders include 54 nations on the African continent and 27 countries in the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Asia.

Bloomberg