Founded in 1975, the Agence Togolaise de Presse (ATOP) is the official state-run news agency of Togo, headquartered in the capital, Lomé. ATOP’s core mandate is to produce and distribute news content for state institutions, national broadcasters, and affiliated public communication channels. It serves as the primary source of government-aligned reporting in the country’s media ecosystem.
Media assets
News agency: ATOP
State Media Matrix Typology
Ownership and governance
ATOP is a public institution, fully owned and operated by the Togolese state, under the administrative supervision of the Ministry of Communication and Media. As confirmed in May 2024 by two journalists currently employed at the agency, ATOP’s top leadership, including its Director General, is appointed by the government, with no independent selection process in place.
This model of direct political appointment ensures a high level of executive control over the agency’s operations and editorial orientation.
As of June 2025, the Acting Director General (Directeur Général par Intérim) of Agence Togolaise de Presse (ATOP) is M. Kokouvi Adéyêmi Eyébiyi, also referenced as Jean Baptiste Adéyêmi Eyébéyi. He assumed interim leadership following the departure of the previous director.
Source of funding and budget
While ATOP generates some revenue through the commercial distribution of its content—particularly among local media and institutional clients—its operations are predominantly sustained through state funding. Estimates provided by agency staff in May 2024 indicate that government subsidies constitute the majority of ATOP’s annual operating budget.
No official financial reports have been publicly released to date. The Ministry of Finance does not publish disaggregated figures for the agency in its budget documentation, and ATOP does not issue its own annual financial statements, making external accountability and financial transparency effectively absent.
Editorial independence
Although no law explicitly requires ATOP to serve as a government mouthpiece, in practice the agency functions as an extension of state communication efforts. According to a February 2024 survey of ten Togolese journalists conducted by the Media and Journalism Research Center, the agency’s editorial output consistently aligns with the positions and messaging of the government.
This de facto alignment stems from the absence of independent oversight structures, financial dependency on the state and leadership control via political appointment.
There is no statute, regulatory charter, or institutional framework safeguarding ATOP’s editorial autonomy.
June 2025