CBC Executive President summons extraordinary council meeting to ‘impeach’ youth director.

As the CBC is being rocked by a fresh crisis, the CBC Executive President, Rev Dr Nditemeh Charlemagne, has summoned the Youth Council of the CBC Youth and Students Department, CBCYSD, for an extraordinary council meeting to decide the fate of CBCYSD Director, Pastor Sankum Eric. 

The summons letter, a copy of which The Guardian Post has seen, is dated August 24, 2024.

Going by the summons, the extraordinary council youth meeting has been slated for Thursday September 5, at the Conference Hall of the Nkwen Baptist Centre in Bamenda, Mezam in the North West Region. 

According to the Executive President’s letter convening the council session, the meeting has been prompted by a “working relationship rift” between the CBCYSD Director, the CBCYSD Chairman and the CBCYSD Executives in general. 

The current CBCYSD Director, Pastor Sankum Eric, who is close to clocking one year as Director since taking over from Rev Cosmas Ghamogha, has also been accused of having an “administrative working rift” with the CBC Director of Finance and Development.

The Executive President further alleged “repeated instances of insubordination and gross misconduct from CBCYSD Director, through his numerous and repeated “unfortunate administrative quagmire,” posted for several months on social media. 

“Come and reason together with the CBCYSD Director for the good of CBCYSD, whose activities have seriously suffered as a result of all the above,” the Executive President urged the CBCYSD Council members.

Executive President accused of highhandedness

Meanwhile, sources within the CBC administration familiar with the case have accused the CBC Executive President of using highhandedness in handling the matter and being desperate to flush out the youth leader. 

Our sources, who opted for anonymity, claimed the extraordinary youth council meeting is a formal step to “impeach” the young director, whose vivacity and dynamism are said to have brought innovative changes within the youth department of the CBC.

Our sources alleged that the extraordinary council meeting intended to vote out the director comes after a failed impeachment meeting held June 18, where voting was administered through WhatsApp. 

“It was an instant illegality and unprepared social media WhatsApp voting without any prayer nor agenda, nor agreement between the CBCYSD Chairman and Director,” a source, who did not want to be named, for fear of being victimised, said.

It is alleged that the members of the WhatsApp forum were given two options of either voting for the suspension of all CBCYSD activities or the dismissal of the CBCYSD Director. 

Executive President ‘ostracises’ youth director

The meeting in Bamenda is expected to hold after the Executive President had ordered CBC youth nationwide, to ignore any message from the CBCYSD Director. 

This was in a letter dated August 17, a copy of which The Guardian Post has seen.

In the letter, the Executive President recounted that the CBCYSD Director, in his message to the youth, has been talking about squabbles he has with his exco and other officials of the CBC administration, instead of addressing the misunderstanding with the administration.   

“Pastor Sankum Eric has placed CBCYSD youths on a diet of what he terms Pastoral Letters. In most, if not all, of his ‘pastoral’ letters, it is a litany of relational and administrative issues between him and the CBCYSD Exco in general and the CBCYSD Chairman in particular,” Rev Dr Nditemeh said in his memo to the CBC youth. 

The clergy frowned at the fact that the Director has chosen this path of doing things, despite his efforts to counsel Pastor Sankum and organising reconciliation meetings with the other parties. 

“Dear youths of the CBC, the CBCYSD Director has a hierarchy to whom he can report any administrative challenges. The CBC Executive President and the CBC Chairman are at the disposal of the Director,” Rev Dr Nditemeh asserted, before claiming that Pastor Sankum has “uncountable relational difficulties, both within the CBC Central Administration and without”.

“Dear youths of the CBC, I wish to strongly caution and counsel that every one of you until further notice should completely ignore any further ‘pastoral’ letter and/or any communiqué emanating from Pastor Sankum Eric that does not bear my little signature appended on the same,” the CBC leader warned.

The clergy then assured the young Christians that the administration is working to resolve the many issues hampering the youth department since the current Director assumed office. 

Background

It is worth noting that the new twist between the youth director and CBC central administration further taints the image of the Christian denomination that has been battling with scandals over the controversial amendment of the Church’s constitution. 

The amendment of the CBC 2014 Constitution and By-Laws, during a CBC Extraordinary General Session, held on June 10, 2023 in Bamenda, had put some disgruntled CBC Christian on warring path with the CBC Executive President, Rev Dr Nditemeh, and CBC Chairman, Mkong Yosimbom John. 

Despite efforts by some elite CBC Christians and administrative authorities in Bamenda to get them bury their hatchets, the belligerents have pushed on with the saga. 

It should be recalled that the faction of disgruntled worshippers, represented by four CBC Christians, notably Tansah Jones Ndzi, Samuel Bongajum (both of First Baptist church, Ndu), Luma Albert (Bethany Baptist church, Buea) and Emmanuel Tantoh (of SCBC Ndu), had dragged the CBC Central Administration to the Mezam High Court. 

It was alleged that after intimidation and coercing, two of the Christians backed out of the case and were later reported to have presented apologies to the church hierarchy. 

However, Taku Jacob, Luma Albert and Emi Emmanuel, who remained adamant, were on June 15, 2024, excommunicated from the CBC, for dragging the church via the Executive President and Chairman to court.

The Decision N° CBC/EP/NCM-LCMI028/2024, expelling the Christians, was signed by the Executive President. 

“With effect from the date of signature of this decision, Taku Jacob, Luma Albert and Emi Emmanuel’s church membership is respectively forfeited, throughout the Cameroon Baptist Convention. No local church of the CBC shall admit any of them for whatsoever reason or purpose,” Rev Dr Nditemeh had said in the June 25 decision.

“All CBC local churches, Men's Fellowship and Field Pastors are charged (each within their respective jurisdiction) with the immediate implementation of this decision,” he further stated.

The constitutional amendment saga also came on the heels of another problem within the CBC. 

In this case, it was over the ownership of the Redeemer Baptist Church, Mile Three Nkwen in Bamenda. 

The feud, which erupted in June 2022, saw the CBC Executive President opposing the running and functioning of the church, under the guidance of Pastor Sam Jato, who had claimed ownership of the congregation.

During a church service on June 10, 2022, the CBC Executive President was booed out of the Redeem Baptist Church by Christians. This was after he attempted to address the congregation, but was denied by the rowdy crowd of Christians.

The church was later sealed by the administrative authorities of the region allegedly on the request of the CBC administration. 

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue No:3216 of Sunday September 01, 2024