Just Politics

Niger coup plotters name economist Zeine as Prime Minister

Nearly two weeks after the military took over power in Niger Republic, the coup plotters have named former Minister of Finance, Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, as the country’s new Prime Minister.

A spokesman for the military junta made the announcement on television on Monday night.

Lamine Zeine was formerly the minister of economy and finance for several years in the cabinet of then-president Mamadou Tandja, who was ousted in 2010, and most recently worked as an economist for the African Development Bank in Chad, according to a Nigerien media report.

At the end of July, the military ousted the democratically elected president Mohamed Bazoum and suspended the constitution in the country of 26 million inhabitants.

READ ALSO: Niger junta closes airspace as ECOWAS deadline expires

Under Bazoum, Niger had been one of the last strategic partners of the West in the fight against the advance of Islamist terrorists in the Sahel.

An ultimatum from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to the coup plotters to reinstate Bazoum expired on the weekend.

Otherwise, ECOWAS would take measures that could include force, the ultimatum said.

The prime ministers of the ECOWAS member states will now meet in Nigeria’s capital Abuja on Thursday to discuss how to proceed.

The Star

Segun Ojo

Recent Posts

Lagos averts disaster as 33,000-litre ethanol tanker crashes on bridge

A tanker carrying 33,000 litres of highly flammable ethanol fell on the Second Rainbow Bridge…

5 minutes ago

NAF plane crash: Navy, NSIB divers recover aircraft wreckage from Ondo waters

Specialist divers from the Nigerian Navy and the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) have recovered…

31 minutes ago

Power bank fire forces IndiGo flight to divert in India

A Delhi-to-Chennai IndiGo flight was forced to divert to Hyderabad after a passenger’s power bank…

58 minutes ago

Zenith Bank vows commitment to girl-child development, empowers 300 schoolgirls

Zenith Bank Plc has launched the maiden edition of its Girl-Child Empowerment Programme, themed “Banking…

2 hours ago

Why INEC excluded Pantami, Adebutu, Gwarzo from 2027 governorship list

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has attributed the exclusion of some governorship candidates from…

2 hours ago

Oil prices rise as Iran deploys new tactics against ships transiting Hormuz

Oil prices climbed on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, after two vessels were struck in the…

3 hours ago

This website uses cookies.