The National Executive Committee, NEC, of the Social Democratic Front, SDF, met in Bamenda over the weekend and adopted a budget of FCFA 100 million for the party’s 25th anniversary celebration on May 26 in Bamenda. Though other issues were also discussed during the NEC meeting, the silver jubilee took the centre stage.

In his opening remarks, the SDF National Chairman, Ni John Fru Ndi, called for total commitment from all, especially the committees, for a successful event which, according to him, will be "a ground breaking and turning point in the life of the party.”

He, however, regretted that the party recently lost some prominent members to death. He cited the death of Chief Vanguard, Simo, in Yaounde, Malam Musa, Pa Abams and a host of others.

Briefing The Post after the meeting, the SDF Chief of Communication, Beatrice Annembom Monju, said the party has as target to raise FCFA 100 million and this includes contributions from Senators, Members of the National Assembly, Mayors, Shadow Cabinet members, NEC members and militants as well as well-wishers.

He said the committees are being manned by very hard-working militants on whose shoulders a successful Jubilee celebration has been placed. He said the reconciliation committee has been created and it is open to militants who are willing to return to the party.

The General Coordinator of the Silver Jubilee celebrations, Hon. Cyprian Awudu Mbaya, told the press that the SDF has to celebrate because of a good number of reasons: down memory-lane; Cameroonians enjoy press freedom today more than ever before, there is a semblance of biometric registration though not biometric voting in place being managed by ELECAM.

The law on genital mutilation was instituted because the SDF first brought it up and the big CPDM majority crushed it. The fight against corruption was ignited by the SDF, toll gate collection was an SDF idea, ex-raying of shady deals in and out of Parliament, judicious use of micro-project grants which nobody ever heard of before 1990, the fight against corruption when Munchipou Seidou were all exposed by SDF as Biya kept asking for proofs and so on.

“We have marched on the streets requesting for an independent electoral commission. We equally marched with transparent ballot boxes, and a host of others. We are not by any way , weakened by the crushing CPDM majority in Parliament who turned down a private members bill I, Awudu, tendered for us to protect our water catchments and wetlands following the grave consequences of climate change.

No right thinking person will reject this bill with flimsy excuses at a time when virtually every town in Cameroon is facing acute water crises. I will not be surprised if in June, the CPDM, will, in its usual style, resurface with this bill coming from the Presidency.

Else, since I am Chair of over 38 countries whose Parliaments have been working to mitigate climate change, these countries will sure accept this bill and Cameroon will not escape ratifying a treaty on it."

Awudu recalled the early turbulent 1990 on May 26, where over 2,000 troops were deployed to Bamenda to prevent Fru Ndi from launching the party, but they succeeded amid bloodshed as six youths were shot dead by armed gendarmes.

"We cannot forget the state of emergency that was imposed on the Northwest and this compound where we are, the owner and founding fathers with hundreds of others placed under house arrest. These are happenings Bamenda people have gone through which no town or political leader in Cameroon has gone through," Awudu averred.

NEC condemned the attitude of the Director General of ELECAM, Sani Tanimou of suspending workers who went for training on the instructions of the President of ELECAM.

The SDF National Executive equally frowned on the recently organised competitive exams for police inspectors where questions where poorly translated from French into English to the disadvantage of Anglophone candidates and called for total cancellation of this exams, because it tarnishes the image of this country in the face of international community, leaving people with impression that Cameroon cannot organise anything correctly except fraud and rigging during elections.