Creation of post of Vice President: Bill fails to balance our fragile national unity – Agbor Balla.

The award-winning rights activist, noted that the proposal to create the position of Vice President is, in principle, a welcome step toward ensuring continuity in governance and clarity in presidential succession. 

However, he said, beyond institutional design lies a deeper and unavoidable question: what kind of balance will this new office represent?

Agbor Balla noted that Cameroon is not a homogenous State, but a country built on a delicate coexistence of linguistic, legal, and historical identities. 

He insisted that: “Any reform of the executive structure must therefore reflect this reality”.

He said for decades, the Anglophone community has raised concerns about marginalisation within State institutions. 

The said concerns, he was blunt, are not abstract, not rooted in lived experiences and have contributed to tensions that continue to challenge national cohesion.

“It is in this context that the creation of the post of Vice President must be approached, not merely as an administrative adjustment, but as a Constitutional opportunity to restore confidence and reinforce unity,” he maintained.

Agbor Balla was clear that: “If the President of the Republic is Francophone, the Vice President should, as a matter of Constitutional principle and national equilibrium, be Anglophone and vice versa”.

“This is not about division. It is about inclusion. This is not about politics. It is about stability. This is not about symbolism. It is about trust. Such an approach would: reflect the bilingual and bi-jural nature of the State; strengthen national cohesion; provide a meaningful response to long-standing grievances and reinforce legitimacy at the highest level of executive power,” he argued.

He then warned that creating a Vice Presidency without addressing the question of national balance risks deepening perceptions of exclusion and undermining the very stability the reform seeks to promote.

“If, for any reason, this principle is not adopted, then the Constitution must clearly guarantee that the line of succession reflects this same balance, including the explicit recognition of an Anglophone as Constitutional successor,” he said, stating that “Cameroon deserves a Constitutional order that reflects all its identities, protects its unity, and inspires confidence in its future.”

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3752 of Monday April 06, 2026