from ABDULLAHI ABUBAKAR in Niamey, Niger
Niger Bureau
NIAMEY, (CAJ News) – NIGER’S Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine used the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York to deliver a forceful defence of resource sovereignty, linking Niger’s uranium dispute with France to wider grievances across the Sahel, including Mali’s struggle for greater control over its gold industry.
Addressing the 81st UN General Assembly, Zeine said the Sahel was fighting what he described as a “war of liberation” against an alleged attempt at recolonisation.
He claimed that terrorism was being used as a vehicle for external interests in the region.
“The uranium of Niger, the gold of Mali and Burkina, lithium, gas, oil and so many other riches continue to make the former colonial powers salivate,” he told delegates.
For Malians, the remarks are significant because natural-resource control has become central to the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), comprising Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.
The three countries have increasingly framed economic independence, security and political sovereignty as interconnected objectives.
The AES says its institutional architecture now includes a unified force, investment bank, biometric passport and common media structures.
Zeine’s comments on uranium offer a concrete example of the dispute.
Niger nationalised Somaïr, the uranium venture previously controlled by French nuclear-fuel company Orano, in June 2025 after relations between Niamey and Paris deteriorated following Niger’s 2023 coup.
Orano had held a 63% stake.
At the UN, Zeine said Niger had invested about 30 billion CFA francs to continue production using Nigerien workers and engineers, adding: “Our resources are now managed by ourselves and for ourselves.” He also said Niger intended to sell its uranium internationally while respecting nuclear non-proliferation obligations.
Mali’s parallel concerns are rooted in its dependence on gold.
A 2026 mining ministry plan projects industrial gold production below 60 tonnes annually through 2029, while reforms introduced since 2023 have sought greater state participation and revenue from mining.
Those changes have also produced disputes with foreign operators.
Zeine added: “Our resources belong to our peoples. Our future will no longer be decided elsewhere.”
His speech places Mali’s resource debate within a broader AES argument that political sovereignty must include control over the wealth beneath the Sahel’s soil.
– CAJ News