CAMEROON; ANGLOPHONE P.M AS A WINDOW DRESSING
Exclusive… WHEN PRIME MINISTER DION NGUTE CONSIDERED THAT THE SGPR, FERDINAND NGOH NGOH, WAS A BANDIT
It’s an open secret within the establishment. Relations between Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, the Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republic, and Prime Minister Dion Ngute are more than strained, to say the least. They don’t like each other at all.
Among the points of contention between the two men: the Anglophone crisis. While Ngoh Ngoh favours Swiss mediation, the Prime Minister has always believed that inter-Cameroonian dialogue should be given a chance. This didn’t please the SGPR, who made sure to let him know directly.
Indeed, while the Swiss, funded by the Canadians to the tune of $20 million (nearly 11 billion CFA francs), are dragging their feet to bring the actors back to the table, Dion Ngute succeeds in convincing Paul Biya of the importance of a national dialogue with the Anglophone crisis as its central point. Ngoh Ngoh does not share this opinion, but Paul Biya refuses to listen to him. The SGPR perceives this as an affront.
In the corridors of the palace, Ngoh Ngoh would tell the Prime Minister a few days before the national dialogue: “When does your business end? We must move on.” It was clear that Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh did not want dialogue. It’s no surprise that the resolutions were struggling to be implemented.
But the situation didn’t end there. When the very discreet head of the DGRE, Léopold Maxime Eko Eko, whom Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh had already tried by all means to have dismissed, obtained authorization from Paul Biya to conduct negotiations with the Anglophone secessionists, notably Ayuk Tabe and company, under the supervision of Dion Ngute. He first went to Accra, Ghana, to prepare the ground. After his report to Paul Biya, an agreement was given for him to meet with Ayuk Tabe.
The discreetly planned meeting took place in Mvolyé. Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh disagreed. After it was made public by the secessionist leaders, the Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republic called the Minister of Communications, René Emmanuel Sadi, and asked him to issue a denial, stating that discussions had never taken place. This was false.
When René Sadi’s statement was made public, Prime Minister Dion Ngute, who had been discreetly leading the discussions for months, was stunned. He picked up his phone and called Sadi to find out who had instructed him to issue such a statement. René Sadi told him that he had received a call that morning from Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, who informed him that Paul Biya was asking him to deny and deny all discussions.
The Prime Minister was stunned. He then informed René Sadi that the discussions with Ayuk Tabe had been directly authorized by Paul Biya. Informed, “the old man from Etoudi” flew into a rage. Paul Biya couldn’t understand why his Minister of Communications hadn’t had the intelligence to call first. But he bowed his finger and said nothing. However, Léopold Maxime Eko Eko’s proposals were not followed up. New discussions that were to be held in Kenya were not authorized. Ngoh Ngoh managed to convince Paul Biya of their futility. However, a few weeks later, the SGPR brought the Swiss back to Cameroon to relaunch “its mediation.”
However, this incident did nothing to change Ngoh Ngoh’s strategy of torpedoing Dion Ngute’s work. After receiving instructions from Paul Biya after consultation with the Prime Minister, Ngoh Ngoh called ministers from behind the scenes to ask them not to comply. This may seem extraordinary, but it is true.
Indeed, one case illustrates this. Paul Biya is preparing a support program for small and medium-sized enterprises. The minister in charge of this sector, Achille Bassilekin (who owes his appointment to the government to Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh), is supposed to make proposals to the Prime Minister. Three weeks later, Dion Ngute has received nothing. He calls Bassilekin, who informs him that his staff is still working on the file. Three weeks later, still nothing.
During a meeting with his staff, Dion Ngute, exasperated by the wait, calls the Minister of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Achille Bassilekin. The latter tells the Prime Minister that he has received instructions from the presidency not to send anything. The Prime Minister retorts: “From which presidency? I am the Prime Minister, and these are the instructions of the President of the Republic.” Bassilekin replies: “Mr. Prime Minister, it was the Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republic who asked me.” Dion Ngute hangs up the phone and exclaims: “This gentleman (Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh) has the behaviour of a bandit.”
CAMEROON; ANGLOPHONE P.M AS A WINDOW DRESSING
