As dialogue proceeds:

Biya orders Anglophone leaders to take federalism off the table

By a correspondent in Bamenda

Paul Biya

According to unimpeachable sources, a high level delegation of lawyers and teachers, headed by Barrister Bobga Harmony convened in Ndawara, Boyo Division, at the legendary home of business mogul and Biya protégé, Alhadji Baba Danpullo. Concordant sources said the meeting was at the behest of President Biya who reached out to his friend Alhadji Baba Danpullo.

                According to our sources, Alhadji Baba said that President Biya was not getting the truth from the men around him and had reached out to him so he could get to the bottom of the problems. But first, the President indicated that talk of federation had to be “off the table.”

                Accompanied by reporters of foreign news channels notably France 24 because some participants “were in fear of not coming out of that fortress” alive, the lawyers and teachers maintained their demands, viz:

1)   Common law Bar;

2)  Common law Chamber at the Supreme Court;

3)  Common Law School to train lawyers as well as Common aw Judges

4)  Separate Education Council to take care of Southern Cameroon education from kindergarten through University;

5) Return control of entry into professional schools back to the Universities and away from the corrupt Ministry of Higher Education;

6)  Return to two State Federation.

                The 12 hour long session started Sunday afternoon and ended in wee hours of Monday at 2.00am, the time at which lawyers finished drafting the document that was immediately dispatched to the Presidency for translation and onward forwarding to the President.

                The Lawyers, Teachers and Civil Society present hoped to hear from the President soon. But they made it clear, sources say, that if there is no reasonable action by the Head of State, things will move into phase three.

                In the meantime, talk was rife about an impending cabinet shake-up in the wake of the monumental failure by PM Yang and the poor handling of the situation by Fame Ndongo of Higher Education, as well as his colleagues at the Ministry of Justice and Paul Atanga.