Benin: after the ARMP case, Laurent Zomaï officially takes office as Prefect of Zou

Laurent Dhossou Zomaï officially assumed his duties as prefect of the Zou department on Wednesday, June 10, during a handover ceremony with the outgoing prefect Daniel Valère Sètonnougbo, at the prefecture in Abomey, the capital of the department located about 140 kilometers north of Cotonou.

“It is with profound emotion that I take office today as the prefect of the Zou department,” said the new prefect in his inaugural speech, thanking President Romuald Wadagni for the “trust” placed in him. The ceremony was held under the presidency of the Minister of Decentralization and Local Governance, Janvier Yahouédéou, in the presence of the secretary general of the ministry and the director of local authorities, in accordance with the radio message sent the day before to the authorities of the department.

This installation puts an end to a week-long blockage triggered by an administrative sanction prior to the appointment. Designated as the prefect of Zou during the Council of Ministers on Wednesday, June 3—the first under the Wadagni government—Zomaï was subject to a decision from the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (ARMP) dated April 16, 2026, which excluded him from public procurement for five years and his establishment “Zom-Espace” for two years, for the alleged production of a non-authentic manufacturer’s authorization during a procurement process for furniture for the Ministry of Justice in 2025.

Two Supreme Court Decisions in Three Days

A first handover ceremony, scheduled for Friday, June 5, was canceled at the last minute without official explanation. Mayors of the nine municipalities in Zou, departmental directors, customary authorities, and local figures had already gathered at the prefecture when the secretary general of the prefecture, Julien Ouankpo, announced the postponement. Neither Zomaï nor Sètonnougbo were present.

On June 4, the interested party submitted to the Supreme Court, which first granted a temporary suspension of the sanction on Friday, June 6, before ruling on the merits on Monday, June 8: the high court annulled the ARMP’s decision for failure to comply with the legal seven-day deadline imposed on the regulatory authority when it self-initiates a public procurement procedure. Zomaï was represented by Me Aziz Onifadé, and the ARMP by Me Paul Avlessi.

The ruling of June 8, based on an exclusively procedural ground, does not address the substantive issue of the authenticity of the document produced during the 2025 procedure. The transfer of Zom-Espace’s file to the public prosecutor near the Parakou Tribunal, decided by the ARMP, constitutes a separate criminal procedure that remains pending. The day after the ruling, Minister Yahouédéou scheduled the ceremony for Wednesday, June 10, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.

An Economic Operator of the Presidential Coalition

Founder of the Youth Consultation Framework (CCJ) and founding member of the Republican Bloc, one of the two parties in the ruling coalition, Laurent Dhossou Zomaï hails from the Mono department in southwestern Benin. His appointment is among several prefectural movements established during the first Council of Ministers of the Wadagni government, which was inaugurated on May 24, 2026.

As the representative of the State, the prefect of Zou is responsible for ensuring the enforcement of laws, coordinating decentralized services, and supporting the nine municipalities in the department with their development projects. The department, with Abomey as its capital and the former capital of the Kingdom of Dahomey, had been in an interim situation since the passing of the incumbent prefect Firmin Kouton.