In spite of the efforts of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), to reinstall the ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, the military junta in Niger Republic has appointed the country’s former Minister of Economy, Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, as the new prime minister.
The ECOWAS, led by Nigeria, had threatened to invade the country and use military force against the junta.
The junta has insisted that it would resist moves of foreign forces to intervene in her internal affairs.
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The junta announced the new appointment on television on Monday night.
According to media reports in Niger, Lamine Zeine was an ex-Minister of Economy and Finance in the cabinet of former President Mamadou Tandja, who was ousted in 2010, and currently works as an economist for the African Development Bank in Chad.
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An ultimatum from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to the coup plotters to reinstate Bazoum expired over the weekend.