Early in his political career, Djibo was a member of the National Movement for the Development of Society (MNSD) and served as the party's treasurer. He left that position due to a dispute and then worked as an accountant. After Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara seized power in the January 1996 "coup d'état", Djibo played a key role in the committee formed to support Maïnassara's candidacy for the July 1996 presidential election and he subsequently headed Maïnassara's campaign for that election. Maïnassara officially won the election and then appointed Djibo as Director-General of the Nigerien Petroleum Company ("Société nigérienne des pétroles", SONIDEP).