Joe Dinga Pefok (Uncle Joe)
Was ‘The Interim President’ (‘Conseil Doyen’), Prof Paul NCHOJI NKWI, From Northwest Region, The Problem? Three Members Of Gov’t Have Died, Including ALIM HAYATOU, Who Died Since April 5, 2021. They Have Not Been Replaced Till Date. More Than One Year After The Last Presidential Election, BIYA Has Still Not Appointed A New Gov’t. The Vice President Of The Republic, Has Till Date Not Been Appointed.
In a rather surprise move, the President of the Republic, 93 year old Paul Biya, on Friday, October 16, 2026, appointed Namy Remy, a senior magistrate, who was working at the Presidency, to replace the late Clement Atangana, who died in Paris, France, on October 4, 2026, as President of the Constitutional Council. The New President of the Constitutional Council, Namy Remy, is from the Mefou and Akono Division in the Centre Region, while the late President of the Constitutional Council, Clement Atangana, who was a senior retired magistrate and lawyer, was from the Nyong and So’o Division in the Centre Region.
But the fact that Namy Remy was before his appointment ‘Charge de Mission’ at the General Secretariat at the Presidency, which is headed by the Minister of State, Secretary General at the Presidency, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, who is also an elite of the Centre Region, has led many people to either rightly or wrongly, see Ngoh Ngoh’s hand behind the appointment, as well as behind the hasty decision to carry out the appointment.
Worthy of note, that the appointment of Namy Remy as the new President of the Constitutional Council, was contained in President Decree No. 2026 / 334 of 16 October 2026, which was preceded by Presidential Decree No. 2026 / 333 of 16 October 2026, which appointed Namy Remy and Abdoulaye Daouda as members of the Constitutional Council. Abdoualaye Daouda, also a magistrate by training, and who hails from the North Region of Cameroon, replaced another member of the Constitutional Council, Bah Sanda Oumarou, who too hailed from the North Region, and passed away on August 7, 2026. Bah Sanda Oumarou was trained in ENAM as a magistrate.
Many Had Expected The Appointment To Come After The Burial Of Clement Atangana
It should be noted that though there had been speculations that the appointment of the new President of the Constitutional Council, would likely come fast, especially with the legislative elections in which the Constitutional Council is involved, supposedly around the corner, many people however did not expect the appointment of a new President of the Constitutional Council, to come before the burial of the late President of the Council. At least in respect for the departed President of the Constitutional Council, and considering all what he did for the regime. Videos appeared on the social media mid last week, showing the removal of the corpse of Clement Atangana, from a mortuary in Paris, France, signaling that the burial was around the corner.
Prof Paul Nchoji Nkwi, As ‘Conseil Doyen’ Of The Constitutional Council
Article 7 (4) of Law No. 2004 / 004 of 21 April, 2004 on the organization and functioning of the Constitutional Council, states that in case of non- availability of the President of the Constitutional Council due to resignation, death or whatever, the oldest member of the Council, that is, the Doyen, will act as Interim President until a new President of the Council is appointed by the President of the Republic.
However it should be noted that the oldest member of the Council who steps in to serve as Interim President, is not officially called Interim President of the Constitutional Council. He is rather known as Doyen, or better still, as ‘Conseil – Doyen’ in French. So his power is very limited. This is the way things were designed by the CPDM regime. It should as well be noted that the office of the late President of the Constitutional Council was sealed on the same day (Sunday, October 4, 2026) that he died, in the presence of the State Counsel at the Yaounde Central Administrative Court of First Instance.
Meanwhile, immediately the President of the Constitutional Council, Clement Atangana, passed away on October 4, 2026, a number of media organs, relying on the provision of Article 7 (4) of Law No, 2004 / 004 of 21 April, 2004, declared that Prof Paul Nchoji Nkwi, who is officially the oldest member of the Constitutional Council, and who hails from Boyo Division in the Northwest Region of Cameroon, was automatically the Interim President of the Council.
Prof Paul Nchoji Nkwi, is known to have presided over only one official meeting as ‘Conseil Doyen’ of the Constitutional Council, before the appointment of the new President of the Council on October 16, that is 12 days after the death of Clement Atangana. Prof Nkwi on October 7, 2026, chaired a meeting of members of the Constitutional Council, in line with the text which states that members of the Council have to meet within 72 hours after the death of the President of the Council, They meet to formally take note of the death, as well to officially notify the President of the Republic, of the passing away of the President of the Council. That was the only agenda of that meeting.
Burial Of The Late President Of The Constitutional Council
The public outing of Prof Paul Nchoji Nkwi as ‘Conseil – Doyen’, or what many people preferred to rather call Interim President of the Constitutional Council, was supposed to be during the funeral, or in connection to the funeral, of the Late President of the Council, Clement Atangana, when he was supposed to be at the forefront of the organization. But even that, President Biya and his men said, no way.
Why The Rush In The Case Of Constitutional Council, And The Failure To Act In Other Cases!
There are lots of speculations and allegations on the social media, as to why President Biya and his men, rushed to appoint a new President of the Constitutional Council. Cameroonians cannot understand why this rush by President Biya and his men, when it came to appointing the President of the Constitutional Council. For one thing, President Biya has since 2019, been breaking records in his failure to carry out important appointments.
Since the COVIDGATE of 2020 and the OLEMBEGATE that followed, President Biya has up till date maintained in Government, some of the persons that were indicted in the financial scandals, by the reports of the Audit Bench of the Supreme Court, that the President himself instructed to carry out the audit.
Three Members Of Gov’t Have Died , And Two Have Resigned
Alim Hayatou, who was Secretary of State in the Ministry of Public Health in charge of Pandemics and a number of other health issues, died since April 5, 2021, that is over five years ago, and has till date not been replaced by President Biya. The Minister of Mines, Industries and Technological Development, Dodo Ndoke Gabriel, who died on January 21, 2023, has not yet been replaced. Rather, President Biya designated the Secretary Of State of that Ministry, Fuh Calistus Gentry, as Interim Minister, and since then he has neither confirmed Gentry as the minister, nor appointed another minister. The Minister Delegate at the Ministry of External Relations in charge of Islamic Affairs, Adoum Garoua, also passed away. Till date, the post is vacant.
In June 2025, the National President of FSNC, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, resigned as Minister of Employment and Vocational Training. Biya designated Mainouna Foutsou , who is Minister of Youths and Civic Education, to double as Interim Minister of Employment. Till date, Mainouna Foutsou, is running two ministries, as Biya is still to appoint a new Minister of Employment. Also, the National President of UNDP, Bello Bouba Maigari, resigned as Minister of Tourism and Leisure, last year. President Biya designated Mbaorobe Gabriel, who is Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, to double as Interim Minister of Tourism. Till date, Biya has not appointed a new Minister of Tourism.
Appointment Of Vice President Of The Republic, Still Awaited Since April
Early this year, there was a rush by the Biya regime to create the post of Vice President of the Republic, who is supposed to be the Constitutional successor of the President of The Republic, in case of vacancy at that post. The Law creating the post of Vice President of the Republic went into force since last April. But till date, President Biya, who is today over 93 years, has not yet appointed the Vice President, or his Constitutional Successor.
But then when it came to the the Constitutional Council, there was a big rush to appoint a new President of the Council, less than two weeks after the death of Clement Atangana, and even before his burial. HUM!
