Achombang Paul, City Mayor of Bamenda Atia Azohnwi
Achombang Tambeng Paul was Tuesday, February 25, 2020 elected City Mayor of the Bamenda City Council following a council session as of right that held at the MINEPAT Conference Hall Up-Station Bamenda.
Achombang sailed through unopposed after the candidacy of Prince Tse Louis Angwafo of the Bamenda II Council was turned down by Mooh Simon Emile, Senior Divisional Officer for Mezam.
The lone SDF-run council, the Bamenda III Council had its councillors behind Prince Tse Louis Angwafo. But the supervisory authority argued in favour of Achombang said to have received the blessing of Yaoundé authorities.
When the SDF councillors nominated Prince Tse Louis Angwafo, the SDO quickly objected stating that the SDF had no right to nominate a candidate within the CPDM and that nominating a candidate from the CPDM was an attempt by the opposition party to meddle in the internal affairs of the ruling party.
After about two hours of disagreements, Prince Angwafo took the floor to ask where Achombang Paul was nominated as candidate and endorsed by “Yaoundé” when they the councillors were not aware.
His words: “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. The SDO should have invited political parties here if we must look at it in terms of partisan politics and not invite councillors. By the way, why are you so scared of the ballot box? Sir, I beg of you to allow the people; the councillors here present to give me a sanction vote through the ballot box.”
The SDF councillors would later stage a walkout, leaving councillors from the CPDM-run Bamenda I and Bamenda II Councils to elect Achombang who stood unopposed.
When the SDF councillors returned, it was to participate in the election of the Deputy City Mayors. The CPDM’s Ndoh David Chi, a native of Chomba in Bamenda II was elected first deputy City Mayor while SDF’s Lucas Ngu Afong was chosen as second deputy City Mayor.
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