His Lordship, Bishop Joseph Ateba, Chair of the National Communication Council, NCC and pioneer Bishop of the Diocese of Kribi was laid to rest at the Diocese of Kribi on Tuesday.

During the funeral that took place at the Kribi ceremonial grounds and the Saint Joseph Cathedral, the representative of the President of the Republic, Prof. Jacques Fame Ndongo, raised Befe Ateba posthumously to the rank of knight of the National Order of valour.

The funeral mass was officiated by the Apostolic Nuncio to Cameroon and Equitorial Guinea, Piero Piopo.

Cardinal Christian Tumi and the President of the Episcopal Conference of Cameroon, Mgr. Samuel Kleda were among over 20 bishops that came from Cameroon, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea for the funeral service.

Reacting to the demise of the Bishop, the Minister of Communication, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, described it as the loss of a figure that made communication a tool for development in Cameroon.

The Deputy chair of the NCC who led a delegation for the council, Mr. Peter Essoka, described the death of his boss as an irreparable loss to the nation.

For his part, the Senior Divisional Officer for the Ocean, Antoine Bissaga, delivered President Paul Biya’s condolence massage.

President Biya held that the media landscape of Cameroon was no longer the same because of the wonderful work that the late Bishop did as the NCC Chair.

Fame Ndogo who is the Minister of Higher Education said the late Bishop gave a facelift to the N.C.C. While listing the achievements of N.C.C Chair, the deceased produced a bilingual manual guide to Journalists to effectively cover the Senate elections and the twin polls in 2013.