Battle for Etoudi: UNDP militants block Minister Djalloh, demand resignation ⁰

Angry members of the National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP) blocked government minister and senior party official Nana Aboubakar Djalloh from entering the party’s headquarters in Yaoundé on Monday, September 15. The protesters demanded his immediate resignation.

“He must resign! He is not entering! We want change!” chanted the activists, who were determined to prevent him from accessing the Etoa Meki building. Senator Pierre Flambeau Ngayap, the UNDP’s secretary general, tried to open a path for Djalloh but was met with firm resistance. Ngayap was forced to step back, with some female members even urging him to avoid a confrontation. The minister attempted to threaten the protestors but was unsuccessful. “He will not enter here until we see his resignation,” one man shouted, while another added, “If the national president has resigned, we don’t want to hear anything else.”

The UNDP has been an ally of the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) for nearly two decades, an alliance that secured several ministerial portfolios for UNDP members. Djalloh has served as Minister Delegate to the Minister of Environment since June 2009. A doctor by training, he previously served as Secretary of State for Transport from 1998 to 2004.

The political landscape changed last June when UNDP’s national president, Bello Bouba Maïgari, left the government to launch his presidential bid against incumbent Paul Biya, effectively ending the alliance. This split was expected to lead to the departure of other UNDP ministers, including Djalloh, Marie Rose Dibong (Secretary of State for Housing), and Mouhamadou Ahidjo, the roving ambassador and son of a former president.

In June, Marie Rose Dibong told the state broadcaster CRTV that she would not resign, arguing that her position was based solely on a presidential decree. “Only the Head of state can revoke me,” she said. Djalloh and Ahidjo never publicly took a position but did not leave their posts. On August 19, Bello Bouba made a surprising move, publishing his campaign team, which included both Nana Aboubakar Djalloh and Mouhamadou Ahidjo as members of the national coordination.

The September 15 incident highlights a growing rift between the party’s rank-and-file, who want a clean break from the ruling party, and a leadership accused of playing a double game. While Bello Bouba claimed to be acting at the request of his supporters to legitimize his campaign, the internal unrest now calls into question the coherence of his strategy and fuels criticism about his and his allies’ true commitment to the split.

Source: Business in Cameroon