The National Chairman of the Social Democratic Front, SDF, Ni John Fru Ndi, has stated that recalcitrant militants of the party risk being slammed Article 8.2 of the party’s Constitution for anti-party activities.

He also stressed that the SDF Constitution empowers basic structures of the party to take disciplinary measures against militants found guilty of violating the Constitution, irrespective of their status in the party.

Fru Ndi was speaking in Douala recently, while addressing questions raised by reporters to the effect that the party’s First Assistant National Secretary for Communication, Abel Elimbi Lobe, unilaterally wrote to the Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation, calling on him to right the wrongs of late Francoise Foning, who defied the Law by refusing to appoint one of its militants as Deputy Mayor after the September 30, 2013 Municipal Elections.

It is also alleged that, after the demise of Foning, Elimbi travelled to Yaounde and deposited a correspondence at the Minister’s cabinet, urging the Minister to uphold the Law.

However, the SDF Chieftain said the party has not adopted a stand on the issue in Douala V, and that it is inadmissible for any militant to solely take a decision on such a sensitive issue without consulting the party. Fru Ndi said he will not hastily condemn Elimbi because the veracity of the allegations is yet to be established.

He, nonetheless, warned that if the National Executive Committee, NEC, members were to establish that Elimbi truly wrote to the Minister as alleged, it will be considered as a gross act of indiscipline.

Some militants alleged that Elimbi, who was absent during the SDF Chairman’s visit to Douala, boycotted out of guilt.

Elimbi Refutes Allegations

When The Post contacted Elimbi by telephone on May 2, he said he was recuperating from an illness, adding that his absence during Fru Ndi’sDouala stopover was due to ill health.

According to him, the allegations leveled against him have been fabricated by his detractors in the camp of the current Littoral Regional Chairman of the SDF, Hon Jean Michel Ninctheu, to run him down.

Elimbi and Ninctheu are leading opposing camps that have plunged the SDF in the Littoral Region into a protracted crisis.

Elimbi, however, regretted that some media organs in Douala have allowed themselves to be manipulated.

He said the bone of contention between him and Ninctheu stemmed from the fact he organised a local meeting with several Councillors of the opposition parties in Douala to reflect on a number of local issues affecting them and that the issue of the post of Deputy Mayor at the Douala V Urban Council was just one of the topics for reflection.

“In that particular issue, we were unanimous in the interpretation of the Law, especially the famous Article 60. We all agreed that if the Law was to be fairly applied in the partition of the six posts of Deputy Mayors at the Douala V Council following the official results of the September 30, 2013 Municipal Elections, the CPDM deserves three Deputy Mayors, while the SDF and MLC deserve two and one, respectively.

At the end of the meeting, the Councillors from the opposition parties adopted a declaration and addressed it to the Minister of Territorial Administration. It was the declaration that was taken to Yaounde by a Councillor, Mongwat Amadou, who is also the Wouri Divisional Coordinator of the CDU, not me.”

On whether he had the mandate of his party before convening the meeting, Elimbi replied; “I don’t see anything wrong with what I did.”

Elimbi-Nintcheu Tug Of War

The tug of war between the two started in 2009, when Elimbi decided to challenge Nintcheu for the post of Littoral SDF Chairman but lost. After his defeat, things degenerated to a Bamelike/Bassa tribal conflict.

Asked why they cannot reconcile, Elimbi said: “Nintcheu is afraid that I want to take the post of Littoral Chairman, which he considers as his private property and has been there now for 13 years, with no significant achievement to show for it.

Worse still, Nintcheu‘s mandate expired in 2013, but he has since then decided to sit-tight. He has repeatedly obstructed the reorganisation exercise in the Littoral SDF so that he can remain in office.”

Meanwhile, during the press conference, Fru Ndi was rather evasive in answering questions concerning the protracted Littoral SDF crisis. He referred to the situation as a conflict not a crisis.

According to him, the conflict in the Littoral SDF is an indication of the vibrancy of the party. The SDF Chieftain said it is not uncommon in the world to find such conflicts in big vibrant political parties like the SDF with ambitious militants tussling with each other to better position themselves.