The Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria, Mallam Ali Mohammed Ali, has been re-elected into the Executive Council of the Atlantic Federation of African Press Agencies.
Ali was returned unopposed during the 9th FAAPA General Assembly held in Marrakech, Morocco, on Thursday night, following a proposal by the federation’s Secretary General, Mr Mohamed Anis. The General Assembly unanimously endorsed the proposal, thereby renewing the mandate of the executive members for another three-year term.
The leadership structure of the federation also retained Mr Fouad Arif, Director General of the Maghreb Arab Press Agency, as President of FAAPA. Mr Fausseni Dembélé, Director General of the Ivorian News Agency, was returned as First Vice President, while Mrs Olga Rachelle Mangouandza, Director General of the Congolese News Agency, retained her position as Second Vice President.
Other members of the Executive Council include the Director Generals of the Gabonese, Senegalese, Ghanaian, Liberian, Cape Verdean and Guinean news agencies. Mr Mathias Léandre Atignon of Benin was also confirmed as Deputy Secretary General of the federation.
During the General Assembly, delegates reviewed key governance and operational documents, including the FAAPA 2025 Activity Report, the Federation’s Action Plan for 2026, and the final report of the 8th General Assembly. The meeting also examined outcomes of the 10th Executive Council Meeting held in Libreville, Gabon, alongside performance statistics of the FAAPA news website and member agency contributions.
The Assembly further deliberated on proposals for new training seminars designed to strengthen professional capacity across African news agencies. On financial matters, the FAAPA Secretariat reported improved compliance with membership fee payments, a development that was commended by the Assembly as a positive indicator of growing institutional commitment among member organisations.
