VZCZCXRO9261
RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHNM #0045 0301313
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 301313Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY NIAMEY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4823
INFO RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS 3476
RUEHTRO/AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI
RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS NIAMEY 000045 
 
DEPT FOR AF/W, AF/RA, AND INR/AA 
PLS PASS TO USAID FOR AFR/W 
ACCRA PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/WA 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM SOCI NG
SUBJECT: NIGER: MOTION OF "NO CONFIDENCE" AGAINST PRIME MINISTER AND 
MINOR CABINET RESHUFFLE 
 
¶1. (U) Summary:  During the ongoing extraordinary session of the 
National Assembly that started on January 20, several majority party 
(Mouvement National pour la Societe de Developpement aka MNSD) 
deputies filed a motion of "no confidence" against the Government of 
Niger.  On January 29, Niger's Minister of Environment and the Fight 
Against Desertification was replaced in a minor cabinet reshuffle. 
End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) On January 29, a group of 12 deputies from the majority 
party, the MNSD, issued a motion of "no confidence" against Prime 
Minister Seini Oumarou's cabinet.  The text of the motion cites the 
Prime Minister's failure to deliver on various issues, such as the 
rising cost of living, widespread corruption, the independence of 
the judicial system, and breach of equality of citizens in dealing 
with legal cases.  Most of the motion's drafters are thought to be 
supporters of former Prime Minister Hama Amadou, who has been in 
prison since June 28, 2008.  By law, the motion should be examined 
48 hours after its submission to the president of the National 
Assembly; therefore, debates are expected to commence on January 31. 
 If a simple of majority of members of parliament vote for the 
motion, the Prime Minister and his cabinet should resign and a new 
cabinet be formed. 
 
¶3. (SBU) In a "technical" cabinet reshuffle on January 29, the 
Minister of Environment and the Fight Against Desertification 
Mohamed Akotey was replaced by Issouf Baco.  The new minister is 
President of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), a 
predominantly Tuareg party.  Like Akotey, Baco is a Tuareg.  The 
reasons for Akotey's removal are not known, but there was 
speculation that he had asked President Tandja to discharge him from 
office for "personal" reasons. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Comment:  The motion at the National Assembly occurs in the 
context of an ongoing power struggle within the MNSD.  The deputies 
who support former PM Hama Amadou intend to discredit PM Oumarou by 
putting more pressure on him regarding the performance of his 
cabinet.  In recent meetings, a portion of the Tillabery section of 
the MNSD, Hama and Oumarou's political party, declared that it had 
lost confidence in Oumarou.  Media reports state that Hama's 
supporters have decided to use the motion as a way to express their 
views publicly on the situation within the MNSD and on issues of 
national importance, which may otherwise not have government media 
coverage due to restrictions on government radio and TV (the only 
media to cover the entire country).  By law, debates on motions of 
"no confidence" must be covered in their entirety by both public 
radio and TV. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Comment continued:  In the current political context, with 
few Hama supporters within the National Assembly, it seems unlikely 
that the motion submitted by the 12 deputies will be passed.   On 
the executive front, more changes may occur if the violations of 
Article 41 of the Constitution on the annual declaration of assets 
by the President and cabinet members, as observed recently by the 
Constitutional Court, were to be sanctioned.  End comment. 
 
¶6. Minimize considered. 
 
ALLEN