The Board of Directors of OAPI have granted a second and final term to Director-General Denis Bohoussou Loukou as the head of OAPI. His first term of office ended in a crisis with his suspension on 14 October 2021 by the President of the Board of Directors, Beninese Alimatou Shadiya Assouman, on the grounds of alleged financial embezzlement and of opposing an audit she had commissioned. The CEO denied the allegation. The renewal of his mandate suggests that the allegation has been addressed and cleared.

The announcement was made on the Director-General's Twitter account (@DenisBOUHOUSSOU) on 1 July 2022: "The Board of Directors of the ‎‎@OAPI_TWIT‎‎ has just renewed its confidence in me for a second term at the head of the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI). Many thanks to the honourable Ministers."

‎The Board reinstated the Mr. Bohoussou Loukou on 10 December 2021. Mr. Jean-Baptiste Noël Wago thereafter assumed the position of interim CEO. The Board of Directors dismissed Mr. Wago with immediate effect on 3 May 2022, stating that he had illegally ensured the interim of the CEO and the Board authorized the launch of a recruitment procedure for a new CEO.‎

The Director-General will serve a five-year term as the CEO which hopefully assures stability of the leadership of OAPI.

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