Swift replacement of Clement Atangana: Biya, do same for other vacant positions!.

Without delay, on October 16, he appointed Remy Nama, to replace him, even when legally, Prof Paul Nchoji Nkwi, an SDF member from the North West Region, and the institution’s eldest member, was on seat as an interim.

The swift speed with which the replacement was made, in a country where several key ministerial portfolios are operating under interim arrangements or affected by recent deaths and resignations, have not been replaced, is raising eyebrows.

Four members of government, Adoum Gargoum, Alim Hayatou, Clementine Atangana Messina and Gabriel Dodo Ndoke, have been called to glory between 2021 and 2023.

Issa Tchiroma Bakary, Minister of Employment and Vocational Training, resigned in June 2025, to run for the presidency in which he claimed stolen victory.

His ministry has an interim, just like that of Tourism and Leisure, from which Bello Bouba Maigari resigned and also had a disastrous race to the presidency last year.

Another shouting vacancy is that of the Economic and Social Council, that comes fifth in the political power ladder, after the Prime Minister. The institution’s former boss, Ayang Luc, passed away on October 14, 2025, in Brussels, Belgium. He has since not been replaced.

Added to the yawning vacancy on the waiting list is the highly-awaited cabinet reshuffle, announced for the “coming days” since last December, along with the appointment of a Vice President.

The prolonged delays have caused suspense and uncertainty, with some political commentators saying the empty seats and others in the interim escalate speculation, forgery of Presidential and ministerial documents and fake news that slow inter-ministerial coordination and public policy execution.

So, why was the hurry to appoint the President of the Constitutional Council? Is it because of the coming Municipal and Legislative polls?

Was the hurry because the interim is not a lawyer and with an opposition background not imbued with the attribute of neutrality?

Whatever the answers, a high-ranking magistrate serving in the Judicial Affairs Division of the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic, Remy Nama, has been put on the spotlight of a judicial board mocked by some as “inadmissible”.

It was a bizarre word used to reticule the Constitutional Council, under the late Clement Atangana, who almost routinely threw out cases that were said to be at variance with the interest of the regime.

The new comer is a Presidential insider, having also held the position of Special Advisor (Chargé de mission) at the Presidency of The Republic. 

Prior to his appointment, he served at the General Secretariat of the Presidency of The Republic, as Advisor on legal affairs and a Special Advisor. 

Those who know him attest his intellectual rigour and deep understanding of the inner workings of the State make him a highly qualified technical expert to lead the strategic institution.

While The Guardian Post congratulates him for the appointment, we challenged him to improve the image of the strategic institution, by exhibiting neutrality when electoral litigations are brought before him. 

In the same vein, we urge President Biya to draw from the speed used to replace the Constitutional Council President and fill the empty vacancies in government, and convene the Higher Judicial Council to prove to detractors that there is no “stagnation in the management of State affairs,” as they have persistently articulated. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3947 of Thursday October 22, 2026