1. The Executive Secretariat is the Executing Organ ofthe Authority.

2. It is directed by an Executive Secretary appointed by the Summit of Heads of State and Government, upon the recommendation ofthe Council of Ministers, for a period of four years renewable only once. Each member State can present a candidate for the post of Executive
Secretary.

3. The Executive Secretary is the Chief Executive of the Executive Secretariat of the Authority.

4. The Executive Secretary is relieved of his functions by the Summit upon the recommendation ofthe Council of Ministers.

5. In the exercise of his functions, the Executive Secretary is answerable to the High Authorities of the Authority. The other officers of the Secretariat are answerable to the Executive Secretary.

6. The Executive Secretary is in charge of the administration of the Authority and all its structures for implementation ofthe decisions taken by the Higher Authorities.

To this end, he is mandated particularly:
a) to undertake all works and studies to ensure attainment of the objectives of the Authority.
b) to make all appropriate proposals capable of contributing to harmonious development ofthe Authority.

Biography of Mr. Kocou Armand HOUANYE, Secrétaire Exécutif.

Since July 24, 2025, the Niger Basin Authority has a new Executive Secretary named Mr. Kocou Armand HOUANYE.
As a Beninese national, Mr. Kocou Armand HOUANYE is an agricultural engineer with a specialized degree in Environmental Sciences and Natural Risk Management and more than 25 years of experience in various fields of expertise, including agricultural water management, integrated water resources management (IWRM), climate change resilient development, and effective governance of national and transboundary waters.
He is joining the Niger Basin Authority as Executive Secretary after a career rich in experience at all levels. After working as a consultant for a firm, he joined the Global Water Partnership (GWP) network as Coordinator of the Benin Country Water Partnership Pne Benin (CWP-Benin). He continued his experience at the pan-African level as Head of Capacity Development and Technical Assistant for Africa for the Global Water Partnership Coordination Unit in Africa (GWP Africa).
Before joining NBA, he was the Executive Secretary of Global Water Partnership Afrique de l'Ouest - Gwp/ao (GWP-WA), where he led the development, planning and coordination of GWP-WA operations targeting the regional and transboundary levels as well as the 15 countries of West Africa.
At these various levels, he has developed multifaceted collaborative experiences with transboundary basin organisations, regional economic communities, financing institutions, bilateral and multilateral cooperation agencies, among others.
At these various levels, he has developed multifaceted collaborative experiences with Transboundary Basin Organisations, Regional Economic Communities, financing institutions, Bilateral and Multilateral Cooperation agencies, among others.
He has extensive experience in institutional, technical and operational capacity building, investment planning and the preparation of bankable development projects and programmes.