Coup leader in Niger names economist as prime minister

The Nigerian coup leader, Brigadier General Abdourahamane Tiani, who led the coup on July 26, appointed economist and former Finance Minister Mahamane Lamine Zeine as prime minister on Monday.

The appointment was announced in a decree read on public television tonight by Colonel Amadou Abdramane, spokesman for the self-organized coup junta in the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Fatherland (CNSP).

Zeine, 58, was finance minister in the era of former Nigerian president Mamadou Tandja (1999-2010) and currently holds the position of resident representative of the African Development Bank (ADB) in Libreville (Gabon).

The new prime minister -who replaces his predecessor Ouhoumoudou Mahamado who was deposed with the government of the president, Mohamed Bazoum, after the coup d'état on July 26- was chosen by the coup junta to manage the transitional period in the country African.

On the other hand, the coup leader also appointed other officials such as Brigadier General Mamadou Didilli as president of the High Authority for the Consolidation of Peace (HACP, for its acronym in French), and Brigadier General Abou Tague Mohamadou as inspector General of the Army and the National Gendarmerie, among others.

After the coup d'état on July 26, the CNSP announced the dismissal of President Bazoum and the suspension of the Constitution.

The country faces harsh trade and financial sanctions imposed by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) which has also threatened military action against the coup junta if it does not restore constitutional order.

In reaction to this threat, the coup junta announced on Sunday night that it was closing its airspace and warned that any violation of this measure will have an “instantaneous” and “energetic” response.

The regional bloc will hold an extraordinary meeting of the military chiefs of the member countries next Thursday to study the situation in Niger.

This Monday, the “number two” of the US State Department met with various coup leaders in Niger but did not achieve significant progress to restore constitutional order in the African country.