Although the Minister fell short of calling Kamto by name, he said the Head of State, President Paul Biya is unlike the politics of spectacle known to certain “misguided” politicians who seek cheap popularity.

Atanga Nji embedded his comments in an April 20, 2020 press release in which he announced a FCFA 2 billion worth “Special Gift” to the vulnerable masses across the country rolled out by President Paul Biya to bolster efforts aimed at containing the novel Coronavirus.

Hear Atanga Nji: “The Special Gift is testimony of the legendary generosity of the Head of State, H.E. Paul Biya who, unlike the “politics of Spectacle” known of certain misguided politicians  in quest of cheap popularity, has always been with his compatriots in difficult situations, like natural disasters and crises that affect the population of some regions.”

When a sudden catastrophic release of gas from Lake Nyos on 21 August 1986 caused the deaths of at least 1700 people and almost 10,000 displaced in the North West Region, Atanga Nji says President Paul Biya’s generosity came to play.

Atanga Nji goes on to enumerate other instances that portray President Paul Biya’s unmatched generosity.

“These include, his support for the victims of the Lake Nyos disaster, the Nsam fire disaster in Yaoundé, the repeated floods in the Far North and North Regions; support for victims of the war against the terrorist group Boko Haram, internally displaced persons from the North West and South West Regions and more recently to the victims of the Ngouaché landslide disaster in the West Region.”

Shortly after creating the Special National Solidarity Fund for the fight against the novel Coronavirus, Cameroon’s Head of State, President Paul Biya ordered that it be urgently credited with the sum of FCFA 1 billion. The fund has since been receiving contributions from private and corporate bodies.

But the leader of the CRM, Prof. Maurice Kamto went on to create the «Survie-Cameroon-Survival Initiative» to raise funds to support the fight against the novel coronavirus, after noting that the President of the Republic, Paul Biya had failed to personally take charge of the fight.

Cameroon’s Territorial Administration Minister ordered the closure of the account of the initiative lodged at Afriland First Bank and went on to asked that all funds collected by the Kamto initiative be frozen and an investigation opened by the National Agency for Financial Investigation (NAFI).

Minister Atanga has since spared no opportunity to throw missives and jabs at Prof. Kamto who has also remained defiant and unmoved by threats from government.