Niger’s military junta announced Wednesday night the appointment of 21 ministers, forming a new transitional government.
The president of the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Homeland (CNSP), Brigadier General Abdourahamane Tiani, signed a decree on the appointment of the new cabinet members, in which six are military.
The Prime Minister, Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, will head the new government and will also hold the Economy and Finance ministry.
CNSP generals will head the Ministries of Defense and Interior, with Generals Salifou Mody and Mohamed Toumba, respectively. Major Colonel Amadou Abdramane, CNSP spokesman, will hold the Youth and Sports portfolio, while the ministries of Health, Transport and Water, Sanitation and Environment are also held by military men.
STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE
NIGER REPUBLIC: AT 2ND ECOWAS EXTRAORDINARY SUMMIT, PRESIDENT TINUBU CHAMPIONS DIALOGUE TO RESOLVE IMPASSE
The Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, says the regional bloc will continue to…
— Presidency Nigeria (@NGRPresident) August 10, 2023
The leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) met Thursday in extraordinary session in Abuja, capital of Nigeria, to discuss a response to the military coup in Niger.
On this occasion, the president of the organization, Omar Alieu Touray, gave the order to activate the regional military force for a possible intervention in Niger following the coup d’état perpetrated at the end of last July 26.
For his part, the President of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, highlighted the need to find a peaceful solution through dialogue. “It is crucial that we prioritize diplomatic negotiations and dialogue as the basis of our approach,” Tinubu said, adding that the process must involve “all parties, including the coup plotters, in serious discussions to convince them to relinquish power and reinstate President Bazoum.”
The ultimatum given by the regional bloc to Niger’s coup plotters to restore constitutional order expired last Sunday. Ecowas threatened with a possible regional military intervention.
