Niger
Parliamentarians in Niger on Friday unanimously voted to put in place a parliamentary committee to probe a uranium sale scandal involving key government officials.
It is alleged that president’s Mahamadou Issoufou’s former chief of staff and current Niger’s finance minister, Hassoumi Massaoudou, improperly participated in the state mining company’s purchase of 5.5 million pounds of Uranium.
A newspaper in the country published documents last month, showing a bank transfer in November 2011 for $320 million from an account belonging to state miner Sopamin, to an account controlled by an offshore company, Optima Energy.
According to speaker of the national assembly, Ousseini Tinni, the commission of inquiry to look into the issue will be set up on Monday. It will comprise of ten members from all parliamentary groups, the ruling majority as well as the opposition.
The team will have 45 days in which to submit an interim investigative report.
The west Africa nation is one of the world’s top producers of Uranium.
Go to video
Mali, Niger, Burkina investigate a French journalist over jihadi analysis
01:11
Sahel Alliance to unveil biometric passports
00:57
Floods in West Africa displace nearly 1 million people
02:22
Niger: Torrential rains cut off Niamey from the rest of the country
01:06
Sahel: Security Council must call out “Ukraine's support for terrorism” - Burkina, Mali and Niger
01:04
Niger: Mohamed Bazoum remains defiant despite detention