SECRETARY GENERAL
The Secretary General is the Chief Executive Officer and principal administrator of APPO Secretariat. He is also the legal representative of the Organization.
In the course of his duties, the Secretary General reports to the Council of Ministers on Policy matters and reports to the Executive Board on administrative and financial matters. As the Chief Executive Officer of the Secretariat, the Secretary General has the authority to direct the affairs of APPO in accordance with the Statutory Regulations of the Organization, the directives of the Council of Ministers as well as those of the Executive Board.
He oversees the work of the Organization; ensuring that the functions and duties assigned to the directorates and different departments or offices of the Secretariat are effectively carried out. He prepares periodic reports for submission to each Session of the Council of Ministers concerning matters which call for consideration and decision. He informs the President and other members of the Council of Ministers of all activities of the Secretariat, of all studies and work programmes undertaken and of the progress of the implementation of the resolutions of the Council of Ministers.
The Secretary General is appointed from a member country of APPO for a period of three years and may be renewed for another period of three years. The current Secretary General is Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim. He assumed duty on 4th January 2020. (brief on Dr Ibrahim)
THE SECRETARIAT
The Secretariat is the seat of APPO Headquarters. Located in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo. The Secretariat is responsible for executing policies and decisions taken by the governing and policy making bodies of the Organization, namely; Council of Ministers and the Executive Board. The Secretariat is administered by the Secretary General with support from two Directors and other staff.
The main activity of the Secretariat is conducting research in the field of petroleum in the African continent, identifying areas of common challenges in the petroleum sector of member countries, finding common solutions including making technical and policy recommendations.
The Secretariat also works to promote cooperation and coordination in petroleum policies and activities of APPO member countries. It focuses essentially on the challenges of the petroleum industry that are peculiarly African and works to find solution to them.
The Secretariat comprises the following :
Office of the Secretary General which includes the Head, Office of the Secretary General, Legal, Public Relations & Communications as well as Internal Audit;
Rilwanu Lukman Research and Development Centre which has two departments : Hydrocarbons Studies and Data Unit, Capacity Building, Technical Cooperation, and Project Management;
Support Services Which has two departments : Finance and Human Resources Management; and Administration, IT and Organization Resources Management.