Kocou Armand HOUANYE

Executive Secretary of Niger Basin Authority

Dear Members of the NBA Governing Bodies,

Dear Colleagues of the Executive Secretariat,

Dear NBA Partners,

We are delighted to warmly welcome you to the Niger Basin Authority (NBA) Web portal, improved to further bring the Intergovernmental Institution closer to its nine (9) Member Countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Chad), its Partners and the Niger Basin Communities. 

This simple and dynamic portal, with interfaces in both French and English languages, has been updated with the support of the Programme for Integrated Development and Adaptation to Climate Change in the Niger Basin (PIDACC/NB) funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and its partners. It centralises information on the NBA as well as the Institution’s results, effects and long-term impacts : ‘‘institutional presentation, past and ongoing projects and programmes, event scheduled and reports, products and services, as well as opportunities’’. We would like to urge you to make good use of the resource and to widely promote it, while providing us your feedback for improvement. 

Dear esteemed NBA Actors and Partners, 

Despite the numerous constraints, Our common Institution, created in 1964 under the name of the Niger River Commission by our Heads of State and Government, its Founder Fathers, and re-established in 1980 as NBA, remains a living force working to “promote cooperation among Member Countries and ensure the integrated development of the Niger Basin in areas of Energy, Hydraulics, Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Fish farming, forestry and Forest exploitation, Transportation and Communication, and Industry”.

Since we took helm of affairs in July, 2025, we have taken the time to map out your expectations and concerns, and to define Areas for Action to be implemented together with you, with a view to making the coordinated and efficient management and optimization of water and other natural resources a lever for the transformative investments required to ensure integrated, sustainable and resilient development in the Niger Basin. These Areas for Action consist of: (i) Strengthen governance and improve NBA’s performance; (ii) Build the capacities of our human resources and make better use of them; (iii) Modernise our working environment with the construction of a new Headquarters; (iv) Ensure a multifaced offer of innovative quality services with a strong impact in our areas of activity, meeting the needs of Member Countries; (v) Make the Regional Climate Change Adaptation Fund operational; (vi) Launch and complete the process for renewing the Vision for an integrated, sustainable and resilient development in the Basin, accompanied by the required strategic documents, taking into consideration the security context and other issues linked to the impacts of climate change and pollution from various sources, with the holding of a donors roundtable. We are convinced that, with the commitment, support and professionalism of each and every one of us, we will, together, succeed in advancing the development priorities of our Institution. 

We intend to make the optimization of this Web portal and the existing tools as one of our priorities to increase our impact, enhancing transparency and better mobilisation of the Basin’s valiant populations and our partners.

We reaffirm our commitment to work in accordance with the guidance of the Governing Bodies, in tandem with the National Focal Structures, the Regional and National Coordinating Units of the Users of the Niger Basin Natural Resource, and our partners to transform into a reality this new strategic start of the NBA. 

We wish to Our Institution, its Stakeholders and Partners working to achieve a shared prosperity in our Basin a success. Together, let us make the NBA more effective institution, close to the people and geared towards a prosperous future.

May the Most Merciful, Allah, the Almighty God, the Creator of all things, continue to bestow His blessings and His protection upon the Niger Basin, upon all of us and all our families! 

Long live international cooperation!

Long live regional cooperation and integration!

Long live the Niger Basin Authority!

Thank you!