B’da Gets City Mayor After Hotly Contested Election

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Yaounde

New city mayor of B’da, Achombang Tambeng Paul

Achombang Tambeng Paul has finally sailed through to become the pioneer Bamneda City Mayor in a hotly contested election Tuesday 25 February 2020. It was during a council session held at the Conference Hall of the Regional Delegation of MINEPAT at Up-Station instead of the Bamenda City Council as a result of threats from gunmen said to loitering around the area. Achombang competed in the election with Prince Angwafo Tse Louis of the Bamenda II Council. The latter was the popular candidate among the councilors.

Administrative Interference

                The nomination of Prince Angwafo was turned down by Mooh Simon Emile, Mezam SDO. The Prefect argued that the SDF councillors could not nominate a candidate from the CPDM. He said that nominating a candidate from the CPDM was an attempt by the opposition party to meddle in the internal affairs of the ruling party, adding, that Achombang was the chosen one in the eye of Yaounde-based Northwest elites.

SDF Stages Walkout

                The SDO’s decision resulted to heated debates that forced all SDF councilors to walk out of the hall. Councilors of the SDF-run Bamenda III Council had thrown their weight behind Prince Angwafo. The disagreements lasted some two hours before activities resume normally. The SDF left councillors of the CPDM-run Bamenda I and II Councils to elect Achombang who at that stage stood unopposed. They only returned to the hall to take part in the election of the deputies. Ndoh David Chi of the CPDM was elected first deputy and Lucas Ngu Afong of the SDF as second deputy

Prince Angwafo Expresses Frustration

                When business resumed in the hall, Angwafo seized the opportunity to question the circumstances under which his opponent, Achombang, was nominated as candidate and endorsed by “Yaoundé” when they, councillors were not aware.

                “I do not know of any conclave where a CPDM candidate was chosen. With due respect sir, ‘Yaoundé’ cannot continue with this hierarchical dictatorship of imposing candidates on people. If he is the choice of the people, why are the people in disagreement? We are here to vote a city mayor for the city of Bamenda and the mayor is to be voted by councillors, not ‘Yaoundé’, so why are we looking at it from partisan politics,” he said. He questioned why the SDO was bent of implementing party lines in the election when he didn’t invite them as members of political parties but as councillors that make up the Bamenda city.