92-year-old president Paul Biya is struggling to get the support of young Cameroonians.

Even before the world’s oldest president announced that he will seek an eighth term in office, his social media profiles left experts in no doubt.

By the time 92-year-old Biya announced last week that he would run for re-election as Cameroon’s president, he had already been increasing his online presence for several months.

Daily posts on Facebook and X (previously Twitter) represent a significant break from his earlier, infrequent participation.

However, analysts tell the BBC that Biya’s attempts to win over young people ahead of the October election are likely to fail.

“Cameroon has over 5.4 million social media users, but 95% of young people rely on WhatsApp – a platform where presidential communication is nearly non-existent,” says Rostant Tane, the director of Media Intelligence Sarl and author of the Cameroon 2024 Multimedia Audience Study.

“There’s no regional segmentation, no interactivity, and very little effort to speak the digital language of young people,” he adds.

“Many know that it is not Paul Biya himself who is writing – which creates distance and limits trust,” says Hervé Tiwa, a lecturer in communication sciences.

“Their communication remains very top-down without any real interaction – comments ignored or deleted, a lack of personalised responses… This gives the impression of a strategy that is more cosmetic than participatory.”

Cameroon’s population is overwhelmingly youthful. Over 60% of the population is under the age of 25, and more than half of the electorate is under the age of 30, implying that they could influence the election’s outcome.

“Political communication must serve democracy and transparency and not just be used as a marketing tool,” says 27-year-old communications specialist Ulrich Donfack.

Youths want to see concrete action on issues that affect them, agrees Falone Ngu, who is also 27.

“Cameroon’s youth are not just looking for flashy graphics or slogans in the media! They want opportunities, change and hope,” says the social enterprise founder, who did reserve some praise for the president’s social media team for realising that “leadership and digitalisation go hand in hand”.

Unemployment is high in Cameroon, with even the most qualified young people holding multiple university degrees struggling to find work. Corruption and security are also major concerns.

Instead of focusing on those difficulties, numerous posts on Biya’s social media sites highlight his 43-year record in power, which occurred before much of the population was born.

According to communication strategist Aristide Mabatto, Biya’s team is currently distributing snippets in French and English from over 300 speeches the president has given over the years.

One recent, poignant example was based on a speech from 2000 that chastised people for lecturing others but not preaching by example. That came just two days after one of Biya’s most steadfast allies condemned his rule and abandoned him.

Source: Chronicle.ng

No official announcement has confirmed Bello Bouba Maïgari’s resignation as Minister of Tourism and Leisure, but on July 28, he declared his candidacy for the October 2025 presidential election. This marks a clear break for the leader of the National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP), a party that had supported President Paul Biya in the last four presidential elections. His announcement signals a decisive split from the presidential majority and, by extension, a de facto exit from a government he served for over 20 years.

On July 3, Maïgari told a German television channel he had already begun the process of resigning from the government. He stated, “You won’t have to wait long to know what I’ve done. This letter must be addressed to the appropriate authority, that is to say, the President of the Republic, Head of State, who appoints his ministers.” He added that “for a candidate expected to face the national electorate, it’s essential to have all the necessary time to prepare and carry out a campaign across the country. A task hardly compatible with ministerial responsibilities.”

His close associates confirm Maïgari has resigned. Saidou Maïdadi, the UNDP’s national communications secretary and a close ally, responded to questions about the resignation by listing several signs that Maïgari is no longer in charge at the Ministry of Tourism and Leisure. Maïdadi stated, “He has left his official residence and returned to his private home, cleared out his offices, stopped going to work, had his bodyguards withdrawn, and returned state vehicles to the Director of General Affairs.” Maïdadi concluded, “The minister submitted his resignation to the appropriate authority.”

Maïgari’s last official appearance as Minister of State for Tourism and Leisure was on June 23, when he presided over a ceremony for signing agreements with new managers of tourist site lodges, five days before announcing his candidacy.

There has been no official statement from the government on Maïgari’s departure, despite some ruling party voices demanding his resignation and calling his presidential bid a betrayal.

The situation is unusual compared to the handling of another ruling coalition ally’s resignation. Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary of Employment and Vocational Training, leader of the National Front for the Salvation of Cameroon (FNSC), tendered his resignation and was officially replaced by Mounouna Foutsou. Foutsou, who is Minister of Youth and Civic Education, has served as acting Minister of Employment and Vocational Training since June 27, following a presidential decision.

At the Ministry of Tourism and Leisure, Secretary-General Paul Marcel Ndioro à Mamoun has been managing day-to-day affairs for the past few weeks. Meanwhile, Bello Bouba Maïgari submitted his presidential candidacy on July 18 and continues to hold consultations at his Yaounde residence, meeting with political figures in hopes of nominating a single opposition candidate.

Source: Sbbc

Cameroon’s Minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji said on Wednesday that the government will “not tolerate” any election disorder in the country.

“We are vigilant and will not tolerate any act to destabilize the elections,” Nji told reporters at the start of the first bi-annual conference of regional governors 2025, which brought together governors of the 10 regions of the country to deliberate on how to best organize presidential election scheduled for Oct. 12.

“As the primary authorities in charge of law and order at the local level, you are expected to use your expertise and experience to take necessary measures before, during and after this presidential election to ensure that it runs smoothly, and more importantly, to make the population feel the State’s presence, and support all parties involved in the electoral process,” Nji told the governors.

The minister expressed concerns that local media were fueling political disorder in the build up to the election. “Programs and debates are organized just to sabotage government actions, vilify members of government, preach tribal hatred, promote terrorism and other irresponsible slogans,” he said, adding that the government was working on “mechanisms” to check excesses in the media.

Officials said that additional security measures will be taken to maintain peace and order before, during and after the election.

Source: Xinhua

Cameroon’s 92-year-old President Paul Biya, the world’s oldest head of state, has overhauled the military’s top ranks in what analysts say is an effort to ensure the armed forces back his bid for an eighth term after a public outcry.

The personnel moves, announced late on Tuesday in a series of presidential decrees, affect nearly all branches of the armed forces. They include the appointment of new chiefs of staff for the infantry, air force and navy as well as the promotion of eight brigadier generals to the rank of major general.

One of the promoted generals is the coordinator of the elite Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR), a special forces unit often deployed in counter-terrorism operations and seen as central to Biya’s security apparatus. The decrees also named a new special presidential military adviser.

The decrees were published two days after Biya, in power since 1982, announced he would run for his eighth term in office in Cameroon’s presidential election scheduled for October 12. The seven-year term could keep him in office until he is nearly 100.

The announcement prompted an unprecedented public outcry in the press and on social media in Cameroon, where Biya’s age and long absences have raised questions about his fitness to rule.

The government has said Biya is in good health and dismissed any suggestions otherwise.

The decrees concerning the armed forces reflect “a strategy by President Biya and his collaborators to consolidate power by building a fortress of loyal army generals around him” that can suppress any protest to his continued rule, said Anthony Antem, peace and security analyst at the Nkafu Policy Institute in Yaounde.

Celestin Delanga, researcher at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), said the decrees “come in a unique political and security context.”

Biya wants to ensure stability during and after the election and “additional trusted personnel are needed” for that, he said.

The cocoa- and oil-producing Central African nation also faces a host of serious security challenges, notably a conflict with Anglophone separatists and threats from Nigeria-based Islamist fighters in the north.

The government gave no explanation for the overhaul.

The last significant military shake-up in Cameroon came just last year, shortly after Biya returned in October from his latest extended stay abroad which revived speculation about his health.

Source: Reuters