Regional Assemblies, Councils: Fireworks feared as bureaus voted today.

Besides the battle for other bureau positions, traditional rulers are also said to be racing for a showdown among themselves with commoners said to be pulling the strings from behind. 

The Guardian Post gathered that the race to either retain the position of House of Chiefs or get a new occupant long went deadly in the North West and South West Regional Assemblies.

Pockets of similar dissention among traditional rulers are said to be visible in Regional Councils across the eight other French-speaking Regions. 

While everything is going to be done through secret ballot, the forces battling to control the outcome of the exercises are said to have intensified in the last couple of days.

Even as we went to press yesterday, stakeholders had intensified lobbying within and without the corridors of power in favour of particular candidates.

In areas such as the Adamawa Region, the battle is said to be that of the CPDM party getting its pioneer persons to lead, given that it dislodged the UNDP to take control of the Regional Council there.

Deadly battle for NW House of Chiefs presidency 

Discussions among North West Region elite to quieten the storm and ensure today’s exercise unfolds hitch-free, has not produced tangible results in the House of Chiefs.

The traditional ruler of Mankon, Fo Angwafo IV, is said to have long dropped out of the regional election race to avoid complicating chances for his brother, Prof Fru Angwafo III, as President of the North West Regional Assembly. 

Prof Angwafo III, The Guardian Post understands, would be voted for what could be his second and last term to head the Regional Assembly excerpt otherwise.

At the level of the North West House of Chiefs, the 20 royals voted for the 2025-2030 mandate are said to be facing pressure from within and without.  

Some Fons with the backing of elite, are said to be fiercely pushing to get a successor for the traditional ruler of Bambalang and incumbent, Fon Yakum Kevin Teuvih. 

Donga Mantung Division is said to be closest to giving Fon Yakum a run for his money in an attempt to succeed himself. 

How North West elite reached the understanding to let Prof Fru Angwafo III stay on but remain split over the presidency of the House of Chiefs with most, said to be pushing for a new face, remains difficult to comprehend, observers say.

Some commissioner positions which are vacant, given that their pioneer occupants were not re-elected, have also been subject of interests from among different Divisions. 

Will Chief Atem Ebako, Bakoma Elango survive in SW?

Over in the South West Region, Meme and Kupe-Muanenguba Divisions that produced Dr Chief Atem Ebako and Zacheus Bakoma Elango as pioneer House of Chiefs and Regional Assembly Presidents respectively, are not also having it easy.

While it is reported that the CPDM has opted for continuity at the helm, ambitious persons from other Divisions are said to have their eyes on the positions. 

Fako Division, with the coming of former Director at the Prime Minister’s Office, Meoto Paul Njie, could make a spectacular run for the Regional Assembly Presidency, or at worst a bureau position, reports hold.

Still within Fako Division, some traditional rulers, we gathered, are going the extra mile, promising cash and other compensation to seek votes for the House of Chiefs Presidency. Without some sort of behind-the-scene arrangements, today’s voting could spring surprises.

Lebialem Division is also coming into the exercise of today seeking to get a replacement in the bureau for Dr Mbencho Andrew Tazi, who died days to the poll. Dr Tazi, from Lebialem Constituency, was part of the pioneer bureau and served as questor.

Biya’s relative splitting hairs in South Region

If it is going to be business as usual in some Regions, the South Regional Council election today is another exercise of national interest. 

This is given the ferocious campaigns from different candidates who are battling to succeed Emmanuel Mve Elemva.

While Elemva, a former Indomitable Lion, is promising proximity, innovation, peace and continuity to stay on, the odds against him are severe. 

Among his major challengers is Cathy Meba, believed to be a relative of the Head of State, Paul Biya.

Meba is the name that has triggered buzz with many sizing up her profile, insisting that as a woman and averagely young, she deserves to be voted Regional Council President for the South Region. The third candidate for the same position is Gervais Eric Ndo.

Ndo, a former senior Customs official, served as Vice President in the mandate ending. 

He has also declared his interest to seek votes from Regional Councillors today to head the South Regional Council. 

He has been campaigning on what he terms “South Region Empowerment Strategy”, projecting his 20 years in public administration as an asset.

The coming of Meba and Ndo, is what has sparked divisive discourse and debates among the living forces of the South Region. 

Elite, among them members of government, are also said to be backing different candidates among the trio.

The campaign   in the South Region has also been fierce in the mainstream and social media. Some indigenes of the South Region have been expressing fears that the exercise could end up living traces of division within the South Regional Council, slowing development.

East Region petitions CPDM scribe 

Alphonse Wouamane Mbelé, former Government Delegate to the Bertoua City Council, is also on a hot seat as he seeks a second mandate at the helm of the East Regional Council today. 

Wouamne is facing stiff competition from comrades withing the CPDM who are pushing for change.

Some have even petitioned the Secretary General of the CPDM Central Committee, Jean Nkuete, castigating the party’s system of designating candidates for such public offices. 

One of such letters that surfaced yesterday is attributed to Aboui Akouma Ânhtyfy, a supporter of the ruling party.

Aboui, in the petition, argued that “democracy is not decreed but it is practiced”.  He urged Jean Nkuete to allow today’s exercise to unfold with Regional Councillors allowed to choose leaders of their choice.

The petitioner insisted that young people have supported the party for long and so need to start assuming leadership positions.

One of the persons seeking to challenge Wouamane is Damzon Mbelle. Mbelle is projecting himself as a young visionary, capable of implanting decentralisation across the East Region.

Banlog Polycap and Dr Jules Hilaire Foka Foka in the Littoral and West Regions respectively had, as at yesterday, not recorded any public declaration from other councillors to challenge them. 

The same observation is visible in the Centre Region, wherein no one has declared interest in the post currently occupied by Gilbert Tsimi Evouna.

In the North and Far North Regions, authoritative sources indicate that surprises cannot also be ruled out despite the CPDM hierarchy posturing to possibly order that the status quo be maintained. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3657 of Tuesday December 16, 2025