SW chiefs add voice to calls for Biya to stay on

By Darel Ngwa in Kumba

An enlarged executive meeting of the south west chiefs took place Friday February 12th, 2016 at the Elongo gardens in Kumba where the executive members of the chiefs confab led by its president Senator Nfon Victor Mukete had only one agenda, to endorse Biya as candidate for the next presidential election in Cameroon.

                 In his welcome address, the venerated chief Mukete called on his colleagues to observe a minute of silence for the departure of one of theirs, chief Ekong William Sakwe, vice president of the south west chiefs conference and mayor of Mbonge council, who died last January 15, 2016.

                He said the institution SWECC is a pace-setting republican institution which has always stood by the present regime as enshrined in the 1996 constitution. He stressed that SWECC has neither changed nor deviated from its initial stance, although as holders of authority and transmission channels between the population and the government.

                The paramount ruler of the Bafews and SWECC president did not went further that their actions as traditional rulers have often been misunderstood, associated with reactionary claims and even suspected to be subversive, to the point where they faced the risk of being restrained in their activities. He however reiterated that their partnership with is based on implicit mutual confidence and as such, no misrepresentation, no incident or perception should put jeopardy this mutual confidence. Responding to questions from the press on why the traditional rulers in the south west had to defy government ban and organize a meeting, the SWECC boss said they have never been at dangles drawn with the government rather their actions were misunderstood by their detractors who wants to roped the name of chiefs in the mud. He however confirmed the fact that it was the governor of the region who gave the go ahead before they could have an authorization for the meeting.

                The traditional rulers said their decision to call on Biya to stand for re-election is because the south west region has been beneficiary of some important government decisions like the cabinet reshuffle of October 2 which appointed Elung Paul Che, an illustrious son of the south west as minister delegate to the MINFI, on going construction work on the Kumba-Mamfe road, the commissioning of the LimbeOmnisports stadium, the imminent completion of the Bamenda-Mamfe-Ekok road, the lunching of tenders for the tarring of the Kumba-EkondoTiti road amongst the emergency program road projects which is a first step towards the loum-kumba-Mundemba-Akwa road, the extension of rail way line from Douala to Limbe and the rehabilitation of the Douala-kumba railway line, the construction of the limbe deep sea port and rehabilitation of the Tiko harbor, plans to construct a referral hospital in the south west region ahead of the AFCON, the planned construction of the Tombel-Bangem-Nguti road, the transformation of CDC into  a state corporation, PAMOL plantations authorized to extend it activities to the Bakassi peninsular, the effective operations of the S G SOC farms projects to name these few as flagship for second generation agriculture.

                It is worthy of note that the call comes at a time when similar calls have been made elsewhere in the country. The southwest chiefs could not remain indifferent.