Finally, Biya parts ways with Niat, Cavaye!.

While Hon Cavaye Yeguie was literally shown the door, his peer of the Upper House of Parliament, Senator Marcel Niat Njifenji, was equally offered a deserved rest. 

Both personalities were voted out during two separate plenary sittings held in Yaounde Tuesday. It was the Lamido of Rey Bouba, Senator Aboubakary Abdoulaye, who replaced Niat at the helm of the Senate. 

He was lone candidate for the race. He grabbed all 84 available votes to emerge President of the House.

The lawmaker and traditional ruler had been serving as Senior Vice President of the Senate, until his election as President yesterday.

Meanwhile, Senator Begala Mikel N. epse Akono Naomie, who hails from the East Region, was elected the First Vice President of the Senate.   

End of era for Cavaye

Serving as Speaker of the National Assembly since 1992, Hon Cavaye Yeguie, for his part, until yesterday, was considered one of the untouchables of the Biya regime. 

His departure from the crucial role has set tongues wagging and has since been animating public debates. 

Indeed, nobody saw Hon Datouo coming, but the Member of Parliament representing the Upper Plateau South constituency in the West Region, is no greenhorn in parliamentary business. 

Since 2013, the business mogul and veteran politician has been serving as Vice President of the National Assembly.

His election as Speaker of the National Assembly first circulated yesterday as rumour across social media platforms. 

This was following a meeting held at the CPDM Central Committee headquarters, during which he was openly presented as the lone candidate vetted by President Biya, who doubles as CPDM National President.

During the election which followed same day at the National Assembly, Hon Datouo stood unopposed for the top job. 

He emerged victorious after securing 133 of the 147 available votes. There were 14 null votes.

Meanwhile, at the National Assembly, the election of the new bureau was supervised by the eldest member of the House, Hon Marlyse Soppo Toute.

Once elected as Speaker of the House, Hon Datouo Theodore, first expressed profound gratitude to the Head of State and President of the CPDM party, President Paul Biya, for finding him worthy of the strategic public office.

Hon Datouo pledged loyalty to the President of the Republic and his commitment to the CPDM in which he has militated for the past three decades.

“…I wish to express gratitude to the National President of the CPDM, for investing me for this prestigious post of Speaker of the National Assembly of Cameroon. I pledge to serve the nation and the people of Cameroon,” he stated.

Hon Datouo, then later proceeded to chair the rest of the session, which witnessed the election of the other members of the bureau.

In the election that followed, long-serving Senior Deputy Speaker, Hon Hilarion Etong, was re-elected.

Five Vice Presidents including: Hon Baoro Theophile, Hon Muyali Boyo epse Meboka, Hon Kombo Gberi, Hon Kamsouloum Abba Kabir and Hon Abba Alim were elected. 

Only Hon Kamsouloum Abba was elected Vice President for the first time.

The Questors elected yesterday included: Honourables Njingum Musa Mbutoh, Bekono Ebah Pauline epse Ndoumou, Salomon Douvogo and Osih Joshua Nambangi.

The new Speaker in a nutshell

Born on July 5, 1960, in Nkongsamba of the Littoral Region, Hon Datouo Theodore, it should be said, holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics, Business Management option, obtained in 1986 at the University of Yaounde.

A member of the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies, he was trained in the exploitation of mineral resources in Africa in Dakar, Senegal.

A graduate of the African Institute for Economic Development and Planning, IDEP in Dakar, Hon Datouo was trained in project management.

In his professional journey, Hon Datouo has occupied several roles in the business world. He served as Director of the EDA Company, a firm specialised in Import and Representation. 

In 1989, he was Director of the Comptoir Commercial d'Afrique in Libreville, Gabon 

In 1998, he served as Director of the Big Shop Company in Yaounde. He was alsoDirector of Equatorial du Bois, a company involved in wood processing.

He was equally involved in transport logistics and the implementation of the Chad-Cameroon pipeline project.

Hon Datouo has participated in several international seminars on trade, security, and peace. A board member for several financial institutions, he was one time Secretary General of the Bangou Development Committee.

In 2007, he was elected Member of Parliament for the Upper Plateau. Once in parliament, he became Secretary of the Defense and Security Committee at the National Assembly.

In 2011, he was appointed Member of the CPDM Central Committee. Since 2013, he has been Vice President of the National Assembly as well as President of the monitoring committee for the construction of the new National Assembly headquarters and delegated Project Manager.

He is a Knight of the Cameroonian Order of Merit, Officer of the Cameroonian Order of Merit, Officer of the Order of Valour and Grand Officer of the Order of Valour. He is a Member of the European Market Research Centre, Brussels.

Lamido Aboubakary Abdoulaye at Senate

Born on December 21, 1961, the new Senate President is senior civil servant. He once served as Deputy Head of the Administrative and Financial Department at the Special Council Support Fund for Mutual Assistance, FEICOM.

Between 1987 to 1999, he was Head of the Records and Archives Department at the Presidential Mail Office. Meanwhile, between 1991 and 1994, he was Research Officer at the Directorate of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs at the Prime Minister’s Office.

He also served as Attaché to the Civil Cabinet of the Presidency of the Republic.

In 1995, he was appointed Secretary of State for Agriculture. He also served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Mission for the Development and Infrastructure of Urban and Rural Areas, MAETUR, as well as Chairman of the Board of the International Institute for Water and Environmental Engineering, 2IE in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

He has been the Lamido of Rey-Bouba since 2006 and head of the Permanent Regional Delegation of the Central Committee of the CPDM in the North Region.

This article article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3735 of Wednesday March 18, 2026