Cameroon :: Ban on the Forum on Famine in the Far North: Rupture between Paul Biya and Cavaye Djibril? :: Cameroon
The Presidency of the Republic has banned the holding of a forum on famine in the far North. The President of the National Assembly does not hide his disapproval well. The press speculates on the break between the first and third personalities of the country.
The forum on famine in the Far North aimed to raise public awareness of the food crisis plaguing the region. The Far North region is one of the regions most affected by famine, due to insecurity caused by Boko Haram terrorist attacks. Civil society organizations, activists and journalists strongly criticized the ban on the forum, saying it demonstrated a desire to censor and muzzle dissenting voices.
This information was relayed following a letter sent on February 9, 2024 by the Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republic, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, to the chief of staff of the President of the National Assembly Paul Biya officially banned the organization by Cavaye Yeguié Djibril from a forum on famine in the Far North.
To understand the origin of this forum, we must remember that on January 6, 2024, during the ceremony of presenting wishes to Paul Biya, the President of the National Assembly, Cavaye Yeguié Djibril, attracted the attention of the leader of the State on the famine situation in the Far North. He informed Paul Biya that he had already started distributing millet to populations affected by famine. The president responded by asking for “reflection on the subject.” However, behind the scenes, Paul Biya finally decided to ban the forum on famine, which was confirmed by the letter from the secretary general of the presidency.
Following this decision, the President of the National Assembly issued a press release announcing the postponement of the event scheduled for February 14, 2024. In this release, he informed residents of the northern regions of Cameroon that the meeting would be postponed to a later date. This is therefore a disavowal from Paul Biya, coming a few days before the start of the March 2024 parliamentary session. The famine situation remains worrying, but the forum planned to address this issue has been officially canceled.
For the newspaper L’Indépendant, appearing in Yaoundé the political capital of Cameroon, in the North we are already talking about “The forum that divides” The President of the National Assembly would not have digested the ban by the Presidency of the Republic of the forum on the famine in the North that he was preparing to organize. For many observers, it is no longer the perfect love between Paul Biya and Cavaye Djibril.