Niger’s oil scandal: minister Tini’s alleged insider deal exposed

From reform pledges to backroom deals: the SORAZ audit controversy

Eighteen months after the July 26, 2023 shift in Niamey, the promise of a radical economic refondation has collided with the realities of Niger’s oil sector. At the center of the storm is Hamadou Tini, the newly appointed Petroleum Minister, whose dual role as regulator and private consultant has triggered accusations of gross ethical breaches. Once a key executive at Mazars, Tini now wields state authority to reinstate contracts for his former employer—demanding full access to SORAZ’s confidential financial records. This unfolding conflict of interest reveals how an audit process intended to ensure transparency has been weaponized for personal and corporate gain.

From public enemy to power broker: the fall and rise of Mazars

The post-coup narrative in Niger painted international consulting firms as accomplices of the ousted democratic regime. Mazars, a decade-long partner in auditing SORAZ, was singled out by the new military leadership and its Chinese allies, CNPC, for producing allegedly biased reports. State television broadcasts echoed the official line: Niger needed a fresh, impartial auditor to scrutinize its oil refinery with absolute neutrality.

Yet behind the scenes, influence peddling reshaped the landscape. By early 2026, a former Mazars senior partner—Hamadou Tini—had ascended to the Petroleum Ministry under the protection of General Mody. His appointment signaled not a break from the past, but a calculated return for the firm he had just left. The promise of reform had quietly morphed into a restoration of old alliances.

One man, four roles: how the minister rewrote the rules

As soon as Tini took office, he put into action a strategy that blurred every ethical line. He relaunched the long-debated SORAZ audit—but with a critical caveat: the mission had to be awarded exclusively to Mazars, his former employer. The justification? To “finalize pending work and settle outstanding payments.” This arrangement collapsed the distinctions between roles: Tini became the state official commissioning the audit, the private consultant performing it, the recipient of the findings, and the sole signatory approving its payment.

The result is a textbook case of institutional capture. How can an audit claim objectivity when its overseer once led the very firm conducting it? The absence of checks and balances in Niger’s oil governance has allowed a single individual to exploit public resources for private profit.

The rush for secrets: a ministerial decree with no room for delay

The urgency of Tini’s maneuver reveals a deeper agenda. Through a sweeping ministerial directive, he ordered the SORAZ leadership to hand over, within eight days, every financial, accounting, technical, and operational document—no exceptions, no redactions. These are the same confidential files that SORAZ executives and their Chinese partners had previously refused to share, citing legitimate business secrecy.

In Niamey’s corridors of power, whispers echo an old proverb: “He who peers through the keyhole knows what’s on the table.” Tini’s intimate knowledge of SORAZ’s accounting flaws—gained during his time at Mazars—gives him a strategic advantage. His audit isn’t just about uncovering truth; it’s about controlling the narrative.

A trail of vanished ministers: who really controls Niger’s oil?

The turbulence at the Petroleum Ministry over the past three years tells a darker story. Three ministers have cycled through the position in rapid succession—a pattern closely tied to the fate of the Zinder refinery. Prior to Tini, Mahaman Moustapha Barké announced a major SORAZ audit in June 2024. By January 13, 2025, he was detained without charge by the DGDSE and held in secret for nearly a year before his release on January 6, 2026. His successor, Dr. Sahabi Oumarou, appointed in haste, attempted to revive the audit in February 2025—only to be swiftly removed.

Sector insiders now allege that Tini, still a Mazars executive at the time, played a decisive role in their downfall. They claim he prepared biased internal memos and reports to undermine both predecessors, clearing the path for Mazars’ return and positioning himself for the top job. The pattern is clear: obstacles were removed, opportunities seized, and the refinery’s secrets became leverage for political advancement.

Transparency in name only: oil wealth feeding private networks

The SORAZ affair exposes the hollow core of Niger’s proclaimed economic sovereignty. While citizens endure the harsh realities of diplomatic isolation and delayed oil dividends, the country’s petroleum wealth appears to be siphoned into narrow corporate interests. What began as a civil society demand for accountability has been hijacked by factional infighting.

The audit—originally framed as a public service—has been transformed into a tool of exclusion. It no longer serves transparency; it serves the ambitions of a single minister and the financial health of his former employer. The refondation promised by the junta has not reformed the system—it has merely shifted its beneficiaries.