In consonance with what appears to be en vogue within the ranks of the ruling CPDM party, the elite of Fako Division have added their voices to that of the senators of the Centre and Littoral Regions to call on President Biya to stand as a candidate for presidential elections in 2018.

The call was contained in a motion of support addressed to the Head of State at the end of a strategic meeting of Fako CPDM elite that held at the Limbe City Council Hall on Friday 29 February 2015.

Addressing the cream of Fako elite who answered present, the chair of the occasion, Senator Peter Mafany Musonge said the primary objective of the gathering was to seek ways and means of sustaining the party financially in the course of the year without always taxing militants.

He said the party would have to bankroll four major activities this year including Youth Day on 11th February, CPDM Anniversary on 24th March, National Day on 20th May and Biya’s Anniversary on 6 November. Senator Musonge, therefore, called on militants to look for ways of raising funds on time to finance these activities.

However, even before the fundraising for the first activity of the year- the Youth Day, got started, the Vice President of the National Assembly, Hon. Emilia Monjowa Lifaka mounted the rostrum and started recounting the several achievements of the party in Fako including the recent construction of the Limbe Omnisport Stadium and ongoing projects being carried out in Fako in connection with the Female AFCON to be hosted in Limbe in November this year.

Lifaka’s outing culminated in the reading of a motion of support entreating “President Paul Biya to accept the clarion call of the Fako people to stand as candidate in the 2018 presidential elections”.

Even though the hall was jammed to capacity the applause that followed the reading of the motion was faint and telling. This forced senator Musonge to throw the question to the hall: “have we all agreed that the President should stand again in the next elections?”

The hall remained dead silent. That notwithstanding, a list was sent round for all the militants in the hall to sign as a sign of their approval of the motion.

Shortly after signing, however, many of the militants told reporters that they signed under duress and that they were informed of a different agenda for the meeting but were presented with a document to endorse.

Some of the senior party officials who spoke to this reporter on grounds of anonymity said by 2018 Paul Biya will be 85 years old and may not be able to be on his feet to run the country.

Compulsory financial contributions to party

During the meeting senator, Musonge said the Fako CPDM has come out with a plan for militants to make annual contributions to finance party activities. He noted that henceforth the party in the division will run a single account where all contributions will be deposited.

Under this arrangement, it was disclosed that the amounts to be paid vary from individuals at various levels of the party. The amounts range from 10,000 FCFA to 2m FCFA, but with an additional clause that those who are willing and able could do more for the party.

Some militants were quick to admit that this would open the floodgates for those in positions of authority to pilfer state coffers to support party activities. About 7m FCFA was raised on the spot out of 12m FCFA budgeted for the launching of Youth Week activities and the Youth Day Celebration itself.