Socio-Political crisis in Cameroon: Atanga Nji Paul takes his First Action

Just days after his appointment as the Minister of Territorial Administration, Atanga Nji Paul has issued a strong call to regional governors, senior divisional officers as well as divisional officers.

In a correspondence signed by the minister on March 7, 2018 and which has made the rounds on social media, Cameroon’s new minister of territorial administration has enjoined his above mentioned subjects to provide him summaries of the socio-political and security situations in their various areas of jurisdiction.

According to the letter, this summary must be made daily based on the chronogram indicated by Minister Atanga Nji, in order to have complete and updated data on the socio-political and security situation in the various of units of command of the civil administrators.

Note should be taken that the correspondence is not limited only to civil administrators of the two troubled regions (Northwest and Southwest) of Cameroon but to civil administrators all over the national triangle.

Meanwhile, at press time on Friday, the newly appointed minister has signed another decision banning the circulation of motorbikes Kumba I,II, and III, Konye subdivision, the entire Ndian division, and Muyuka subdivision. This ban is expected to last for a period of ten days.

In the communiqué signed March 8, 2018, he maintained that the measures will only be reviewed after evaluation by the respective governors of the regions concerned.

He added that, about 27 military staff have died as a result of assaults perpetrated by Ambazonia fighters and 18 rape cases recorded in Batibo, including schools, houses and state institutions destroyed..

It should be recalled that Atanga Nji Paul was appointed Minister of Territorial Administration during the March 2 cabinet reshuffle that also saw the split of that ministry into two with the new ministry of decentralization and development coming out from it.

He becomes the first Anglophone Cameroonian to head that ministry at a time Anglophones have been complaining about marginalization, citing the fact that they are often given only ‘weightless’ ministries during appointments.

But, to Atanga Nji, his appointment to this powerful ministry is testimony of the fact that, Anglophones have often been “prioritized” by President Paul Biya.

LVV