Anxiety is building up in the PCC as the heat at the Presbyterian Church Centre Ntamulung where delegates are now in conclave to elect the next PCC Moderator and Synod Clerk reaches fever level.

Last weekend saw 2 of the 6 names dropped from the list of potential candidates, leaving the Rev. Abwenzoh Williams Membong (outgoing synod clerk) and the Rev. Fonki Samuel, Parish Pastor PC Bastos Yaoundé to drag the succession battle down to the wire. For the office of synod clerk, the battle is between the Rev. Fochang Babila and Rev. Nganji Christian.

The choice as to who leads the PCC for the next 5 years now rest on the shoulders of members of the Electoral College made up of the 28 Presbytery Secretaries, 28 Presbytery Chairmen and one elected delegate from each presbytery, the general Managers of PCC business units(like Presscraft, Pressbook and Pressprint) the National Presidents of the Christian Men’s Fellowship, Christian Women Fellowship and the Christian Youth Fellowship and some selected senior officials of the Cameroon Christian University amongst others.

PCC regulations indicate that only ordained pastors of the church who have served for at least 15 years are qualified to contest for the office of Moderator and that of the Synod Clerk.

The Synod is the supreme governing body of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, with its head office in Buea, South West Region.

The Moderator and the Synod Clerk elected for a term of office of five years act as the Church’s spiritual leader and chief of staff respectively, while the rest of the synod made up of the Financial, Communication, Health, and Development secretaries, treasurer, auditor, accountants are appointed.

Rev. A. Ngole and Rev. A. Su, were the first Moderator and Synod Clerk elected in 1958, barely a year after independence from the Basel Mission.