Anglophone members of the National Union for Democracy and Progress, NUDP of Bello Bouba Maigari, have no voice or say, nor a leadership position in the party. According to our findings, no Anglophone has ever held the position of 1st Vice National Chairman, Secretary General or Treasurer in the NUDP. The only important position held by an Anglophone in the national bureau of the NUDP was that of National Youth President.

Apart from the fact that Anglophones were reluctantly given that post after fifteen years of complete Francophone domination, we gathered that the position of National Youth President which is occupied by an Anglophone is more of a ceremonial position; just like that of the NUDP 2nd Vice National President which is also occupied by another Anglophone.

Anglophones within the NUDP have qualified the post of National Youth President ‘offered’ them by Bello Bouba as throwing dust into their eyes. Some members of the party who pleaded anonymity said the office occupant is not only powerless but does not have a running budget or even a single room office space.

This, they said, is in sharp contrast to other NUDP national bureau members who have air-conditioned offices with mouth-watering running budgets. NUDP-CPDM alliance: Exclusively Francophone affair Even though it is an established fact that the NUDP got 68 seats in parliament in 1992; thanks to the 13 parliamentary seats he got from the South West region, the party has since going into a juicy alliance with the CPDM in 1997, made sure no grain from the marriage is tasted by Anglophones.

Since the alliance was formed, no Anglophone has occupied any meaningful position in government. Bello Bouba has been in government since 1997; holding the positions of minister of state for trade and industrial development,minister of state for posts and telecommunication, minister of state for transport and is currently minister of state for tourism and leisure.

Other Francophone NUDP officials in government and higher positions of responsibility are: Nana Aboubakar Djalloh (Minister Delegate in the Ministry of Environment And Nature Protection), Ahidjo Bajika (Roving Ambassador and Board Chairman of government-owned Sawa Hotel), Younous Soungi (Assistant General Manager of Cameroon Shippers’ Council), Ngayap Pierre Flambeau (appointed Senator), and Mongoleon Diabell (Former Secretary General in the Ministry of Trade).

Mongoleon was replaced by another Francophone NUDP official, Ouma Haman, after he went on retirement. For his part, Ouma Haman has since more than a year ago quit the job of Secretary General in the Ministry of Trade for greener pastures at the multi-billion telecom company, NEXTTEL.

Sources say Bello Bouba has categorically refused to propose an Anglophone NUDP official to replace the former Francophone SG in the Ministry of Trade. The position has thus remained vacant while Bouba continues indefinitely to search for another Francophone NUDP official to replace Haman.

The Journal gathered that when government wanted three tourism diplomats in France, America and China, Bello Bouba turned down proposals to at least propose an Anglophone to represent the country. He rather went ahead and chose his private secretary and brother who were appointed to China.

In the Ministry of Tourism, Bouba appointed another NUDP official from the West region to the position of 2nd Inspector General. No Anglophone NUDP official, we observe, holds any position of substance in the Ministry of Tourism and Leisure in Yaounde. The Regional Delegates for Tourism and Leisure in the Far North, East and West regions, we gathered, are all Francophone NUDP officials. Bello Bouba has equally appointed tens of NUDP officials as divisional delegates of tourism and leisure; leaving Anglophones with only one divisional delegate; that of the Nyong and So’o in the Centre region. Statistics gathered show that he equally appointed mainly Francophones as divisional delegates of transport when he headed that ministry.

In Bamenda, Bello Bouba, appointed only Francophones as managers of the state-owned Ayaba Hotel. Most of the senior and junior staff of the hotel too are Francophones. Bello Bouba’s apparent hatred for Anglophones in his own party was openly manifested when during last year’s senatorial elections; he refused to pay the caution fees for NUDP candidates in the North West and South West regions; under the pretext that the two regions did not have councilors. But he paid the same fees for the NUDP list in the Littoral; even though the party had only one councilor.

He paid the caution fees for the NUDP list in Adamawa but the SDF list without a single councilor won the polls.What is even most annoying is that Bello Bouba allowed NUDP officials in the North West and South West regions to spend money compiling documents only for him to refuse paying their caution fees at the last minute.

As if to tell Anglophones that they were not useful in the NUDP, Bello Bouba, when consulted by Biya to propose a name for appointment of Senator, settled for another Francophone, Ngayap Pierre Flambeau, who is also the party’s Secretary General.

Many had thought that he would at least consider Achu Churchill Mandi an Anglophones for the appointment – he didn’t. Churchill is a retired customs officer who doubles as the party’s 2nd Vice National President.

The Cameroon Journal gathered that it was Churchill who in the early 90s risked his life and job and sold all his cattle to implant the NUDP in the entire North West region. Anglophones within the NUDP who spoke to the Journal on condition of anonymity disclosed that only Francophone contractors are favoured by Bello Bouba when it comes to award of contracts from his ministry.

CJ made all frantic efforts to get Bello Bouba’s version of the story to no avail. We texted and called him severally for his side of the story but got no response.