Niger’s military junta names Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine as new Prime Minister

Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, formerly the Minister of Economy and Finance, has been designated as Niger’s new Prime Minister by the country’s military junta. The announcement was made on national television by a spokesperson for the coup leaders late on Monday, occurring two weeks after the military assumed control of the nation.

Lamine Zeine, the newly appointed Prime Minister, previously held the role of Minister of Economy and Finance during Mamadou Tandja’s presidency until 2010. He has more recently been noted as an economist at the African Development Bank in Chad according to local Nigerien media.

Recapping recent events, in late July, the military deposed President Mohamed Bazoum, who had been elected through democratic processes, and suspended the country’s constitution. In response, ECOWAS called for the immediate release and restoration of President Mohamed Bazoum as the lawful Head of State and Government of the Republic of Niger.

Despite ECOWAS’s ultimatum to the coup organizers to reinstate Bazoum under threat of military intervention, the West African leaders rejected any notion of President Bazoum’s resignation and asserted him as the sole officially recognized and elected President by ECOWAS, the African Union, and the international community.

The leaders expressed their strong disapproval of the attempted disruption of constitutional order in Niger and the unlawful detention of President Bazoum, along with his family and government members. The deadline provided by ECOWAS to the coup plotters for the reinstatement of Bazoum had lapsed on Sunday.

Subsequently, Prime Ministers from ECOWAS member countries are scheduled to convene on Thursday, August 10th, 2023, in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, to discuss the next steps to be taken in response to the situation.