A 1.8 billion FCFA monthly military fund at the heart of Niger’s power struggle
Niger’s ruling elite is locked in a fierce internal battle over a military structure whose financial weight far exceeds its stated security mission. The Commandement des Forces de Protection et de Développement (CFPD) has become the focal point of a confrontation involving General Salifou Mody, CNSP leader Abdourahamane Tiani, and former Finance Minister and Prime Minister Lamine Zeine. At stake is a monthly envelope of 1.8 billion FCFA.
Formally, the CFPD protects Niger’s strategic infrastructure. Behind closed doors, however, the fight revolves around three levers of power: control over personnel, control over missions, and control over the money.
Decree 2024-309 and the creation of the CFPD
On 9 May 2024, General Abdourahamane Tiani signed decree No. 2024-309/P/CNSP/MDN establishing the Commandement des Forces de Protection et de Développement. The unit was designed to reinforce protection of the country’s strategic sites and infrastructure — mining installations, oil facilities, corridors and pipelines. The Ministry of Defence confirmed the creation of this structure to secure strategic sites and corridors. In parallel, the recruitment of 10,000 young people in 2024 bolstered the ranks of the Nigerien armed forces. The project fits a security rationale and accompanies the expansion of the military apparatus.
Article 28 and the 1.8 billion FCFA figure
Article 28 of the decree sets a Prime Unique d’Astreinte (PUA) of at least 12,000 FCFA per man per day, while imposing a financial contribution on companies benefiting from the security arrangement. For a force of 5,000 men, the amounts break down as follows:
- Per day: 5,000 men × 12,000 FCFA = 60 million FCFA.
- Per month (30 days): 1.8 billion FCFA.
- Per year: 21.9 billion FCFA.
These figures represent the financial reality of the system, materialised through contracts signed with companies, sums paid and personnel deployed. This is the very core of the standoff within the regime.
Defence versus Finance: the institutional clash
General Salifou Mody pushed through the implementation of the CFPD. General Tiani signed the decree under direct pressure from his defence minister. After the signature, the CNSP leader ordered Finance Minister Lamine Zeine to freeze the CFPD’s financial provisions. The result: the structure exists but is deprived of the means to operate. General Mody thus suffered a direct political blockage of his project.
The Mody-Zeine dispute
Lamine Zeine became the central point of friction. The Finance Ministry deliberately blocked the budgetary translation of the military arrangement. By January 2026, Lamine Zeine combined the roles of Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, while Salifou Mody served as Minister of State for Defence. Mody secured the removal of the Finance portfolio from Zeine, then forced his departure from the Prime Minister’s office. The conflict over the CFPD destroyed trust between the pillars of power.
Mody takes the prime ministership
The reshuffling of power required Zeine’s exit. General Mody took the head of government and imposed his condition: holding both the Prime Minister and Defence Minister posts. He thereby concentrated political, military and administrative levers of the regime in his own hands.
Damolleydi: the second battleground
Faced with the CFPD blockage, the regime launched the general mobilisation “Damolleydi” to rally volunteers and existing structures. General Mody took charge of the committee for this mobilisation, sidelining General Mohamed Toumba, Minister of the Interior. Mody found himself at the head of this strategic initiative but deliberately slowed its implementation. The programme lost visibility, supplanted by autonomous local structures.
Control over resources
The affair locks the state apparatus around three axes:
- Command: control over personnel assigned to strategic sites.
- Missions: designation of infrastructure to be secured and setting of priorities.
- Money: control over contributing companies and management of the financial flows generated.
Article 28 of the decree governs this financial mechanism of 1.8 billion FCFA per month.
Whoever wins controls the state
This sum of 1.8 billion is the direct financial stake of the arrangement. It confirms the political dimension of the CFPD, at the crossroads of strategic resources, contributing companies and the chain of command. Beyond the rivalry between Tiani, Mody and Zeine, the winner of this confrontation holds exclusive control over Niger’s men, missions and resources. Behind these personal quarrels, what is being locked down is total mastery of the state apparatus.
