Biya-Fru Ndi Secret Alliance Create More Fears than Cheers

Fru Ndi: SDF Chairman

 Fai Cassian Ndi

It is almost absolutely certain that the SDF will make its debut in the next government. Yet some militants of the SDF are very skeptical at the manner which party hierarchy has been handling some burning issues. Press Conference postponed just few minutes to the time, no submission from the SDF on the flawed senatorial polls are some of the issues SDF diehards have been pondering over. Allegations are to whether Fru Ndi is not being dictated what to do by someone through phone calls abound.

However, a Presidential insider hinted at weekend that SDF party hierarchy is very cautious of the secret deal. According to the hint, negotiations have been reached between President Paul Biya and his eternal challenger Ni John Fru Ndi through intermediaries. Hence there is a cordial understanding that now seems to prevail between the ruling party and the leading opposition party. If we talk about intermediaries, it means that Paul Biya and Fru Ndi have not met physically to talk on this issue but the Head of State has used senior government officials including the Director of the Civil Cabinet of the Presidency Republic Martin Belinga Eboutou to accomplish this new found romance with the SDF.

 Things began to settle between the two parties when Ni John Fru Ndi who opposed the organization of Senate abruptly turned around to swallow his own words by announcing that the SDF party would take part. That decision shocked many people both in the SDF and outside. Seemingly Fru Ndi understood that by refusing to participate in the Senatorial elections would have been another political blunder.

Political analysts wondered loudly whether Ni John Fru Ndi has thus realized that every time the party refuses to participate in any elections, it still benefits the CPDM and or other political parties.  But as days unfolded, observers of the Cameroonian political microcosm started discovering that there was something happening behind the scene between the CPDM and the SDF. Even though SDF chieftain disclosed that his party could only participate in the senatorial elections after he Fru Ndi) must have agreed with Biya, many never took him serious. Speculations were even rife at that before Paul Biya left for Paris, he was instructed by French President Francios Holland to meet and discuss with the leading opposition (SDF). Even when Fru Ndi finally met Belinga Eboutou, nothing filtered from the encounter.

When the national president of the ruling party, Paul Biya, asked the Minister of Higher Education, Jacques Fame Ndongo, also secretary of communication of the party to go and announce in the media (CRTV) that CPDM councilors in the West region should vote for SDF senatorial list, the truth about President Biya’s new found romance with the SDF became visibly clear. In other words, he (Biya) barred the way for Adamu Ndam Njoya’s CDU. This was a serious blow to Ndam Njoya, Mayor Fumban. Even with the muscular intervention of Fotso Victor, CPDM councilors in the West region respected the instruction. Paul Biya rescued his friend (Fru Ndi) from the shame and humiliation. Biya plan as we gathered is to solidify his links with the Grass-field (Graffi of North West and West Regions) to silence the Grand North, especially the pro-Marafa.

The most interesting thing is that in politics things do not happen in such a simple way.

SDF in Government

Information filtering into our office indicates that the SDF is proposing as preconditions to be of the next government, the party must be assigned five ministries. According to what we gathered the ministries the SDF is requesting are: Water and Energy, Basic Education, Agriculture and Rural Development, and the Ministry of Territorial Administration. Yet Paul Biya is peddling on offering instead the Ministry of Social Affairs, Employment and Vocational Training, Women’s Empowerment and the Family, ministers of Special Duties..

 And what is happening even within the SDF is that party executives who want to accept any post in government are quite numerous, at least more than before. Another confidential source has hinted that the issue of geopolitical balance is also raising dusk in Fru Ndi’s party as everyone want to be appointed. Outside the Northwest and West regions which is President Biya’s interest, the SDF we gathered contemplating proposing some of its militant from Adamawa, Littoral and East and why not the South and Southwest to respect geopolitical balance. So as not to appear as a regional but a national party, the Chairman will not enter the government as Bello Bouba Maïgari did but will focus his top lieutenants in the Shadow Cabinet (parallel government - the opposition) Nec (the Politburo), giving it true balance. The situation is difficult for the Chairman as he would have had enough of ministerial positions in the center region for example, which is one of the strongholds of the CPDM. Fru Ndi we gathered will be rewarded with an appointment into the senate. Having managed to temper the heat momentarily, the political ambitions of the North, Paul Biya is now turning to the Great West ( Northwest and West), the Grass Field. It should be noted that the intentions of Paul Biya are not clear; it is to get rid of the North that the Head of State is looking for a new wife that is the Great West. This is an unfaithful husband, so be careful! The Far North has learned the hard way

The reality of the deal which FruNdi struck with Eboutou Belinga is becoming known to the public after a lot of speculations by political analysts. As predicted, The Eye is aware that both SDF and CPDM relied on party discipline reasons why from the beginning the alleged deal between the CPDM and SDF was a misery. It is now overt why SDF had to contest even in areas that it has no councilors, this is so because as hinted part of the deal was for some lists to be disqualified. The CPDM is out in the West without a voted senator on flimsy excuses that are best known only to Jean Nkwete. An authoritative voice at the Central Committee of the CPDM hinted us that the ongoing political maneuvers between the CPDM and the SDF are part of the secret deal imposed on the Biya regime by the French. Yet pundits have described the Biya-Fru Ndi alliance as unholy given that no one knows the exact contain of the deal. The greatest casualties of this unholy alliance are Ndam Njoya and Bello Bouba Maigari. 

With the SDF picking seven seats each in the West and Adamawa regions, the CDU of Ndam Njoya has been reduced to its Noun Division while Belo Bouba’s NUDP that has always claimed to lord over the Northern Region including Adamawa has been reduced to naught.

It is even alleged that six SDF militants have been tipped to be appointed into the senate. By implication, Fru Ndi will be voted 2nd Vice President of the senate. Besides, the SDF will then enter government and Belo Bouba’s NUDP will be flushed out. This will therefore mark the end of the NUDP-CPDM alliance. A school of thought holds that President Biya is determined to crush pro-Marafa in the Northern Region. While one could argue that the Fru Ndi-Biya (Belinga Eboutou) secret deal is cosmically linked, as in the adage “What goes around comes around”, the far more nuanced truth is that analysts are wondering the reasons for the SDF to accept to be ridicule at its fief (when Fru Ndi knew that the senatorial elections are a masquerade of the rigged 2007 municipal and legislative elections). In fact it is perhaps even more disheartening when we realize that the secret deal is still a misery but perhaps that is also the silver lining. We may not be able to decipher whether Fru Ndi has been cheated or not. Yet the fact that the SDF party could only emerge after preliminary votes count in the West and Adamawa regions is indicative.

However, a Presidential insider also revealed that after the proclamation of the official results, President Biya will carryout a major cabinet shake-up which will usher into government some SDF militants. Harping on the geopolitical balance, The Eye gathered that Prime Minister Yang Philemon will lose his position to someone from the Adamawa or the West Region if Achidi Achu picks the position of Senate President. Public opinion holds that the relationship between Fru Ndi and Biya needs a serious reassesment.

What if Supreme Court Declares CPDM List Winner in NW

The probability that this deal could end up as a scam is relatively high. This is so because it would be shameful if SDF chieftain accepts to be appointed as senator. The world knows that it is the SDF which is the leading opposition political party in Cameroon. Not even those who struck an alliance with Biya like Belo Bouba MAIGARI, Dakole and or Issa Tchiroma Bakary to be part of his government. When Fru cried fault over the anticipation of senatorial elections, the Biya regime caught cold. Yet after threats of matchets and boycott, Fru Ndi swallowed his words and declared during a rally in Ndu that he will run for the senate. It was out of the ordinary. At the beginning allegations were rife at that the list for the North West region would be disqualified for Fru Ndi’s candidature to sail through but it was instead the CPDM lists for West and Adamawa regions that were rejected. The Eye is aware that when it came out from ELECAM that the list for North West has been retained, SDF hierarchy became jittery and nervous. The secret however of the gentleman agreement remains between Paul Biya (Belinga Eboutou) and Fru Ndi. Yet speculations are rife at that if Fru Ndi loses and calls on militants to sharpen their matches, he would be given a deaf ear. As such, SDF militants in the West and Adamawa who are the supposed winners may likely take decamp from the party given that their chances will be frustrated. It is this unknown that raises fears among militants of the SDF. Yet, Ni John Fru Ndi told Cameroonians that he would never appear in court to defend any file on election rigging and he kept his words. Those who were waiting to see chairman in court have been beaten to their bornes..........

Fru Ndi & Proponed Press Briefing

The man in the street has been wondering what is happening to the SDF when after an election like senatorial, Fru Ndi has not made a public statement. The concealed press conferences continue to create fears given that the deal may kill SDF voice.

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