A dispute between Kildadi Taguieke Boukar, the governor of Cameroon’s Adamaoua region, and Bobo Saliou, the mayor of Ngaoundéré, has escalated, culminating in a warning from the administrative authority. On March 6, the governor issued a press release to be “widely distributed,” criticizing the “political cunning and malicious tendencies” of local elected officials from “certain political parties.” These officials have been organizing political rallies following the completion of basic socio-economic infrastructure projects. The governor emphasized that these projects are funded by public money and should not be used to elicit “thanks” and “motions of support” for municipal executives.

Governor Kildadi Taguieke Boukar cites the example of the maintenance and paving project of certain tertiary roads in the city of Ngaoundéré, initiated by the mayor's office and "whose executive is insidiously trying to give them a partisan coloration to sow doubt in the minds of the beneficiary populations and surreptitiously orient their political choice towards its banner during the next elections." The Mayor Bobo Saliou of the National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP) is targeted by this warning.

“The bone of contention in this case is that the mayor is using state funding to pave roads, particularly in the Bali neighborhood. On social media, he is promoting his party, the UNDP, in connection with this project. This is what annoys the governor, who has issued this press release," comments a teacher at the University of Ngaoundéré. He adds: "We are on the eve of the 2025 elections, so it is fair game.” 

The UNDP won the mayor's office of the city of Ngaoundéré in the 2020 municipal elections, and according to some in the region, the ruling Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM) dreams of overthrowing the UNDP in Ngaoundéré. The governor's statement is then seen as an attempt to aid the CPDM and to stifle the UNDP's successes in managing the city.

"The governor would like these projects to be credited to the head of state to get [citizen’s votes] in the next elections. But the mayor is jeopardizing this wish by showing that it is the UNDP that should be voted for because this party is investing in improving the daily lives of the population," the teacher indicates.  

Reacting in the columns of the regional tri-weekly L’œil du Sahel, Mayor Bobo Saliou addresses the governor, stating, "Let him write what he has to write. We will continue to do our work." For this local official, there is no need to quibble over the implementation of projects included in the Public Investment Budget (BIP). "In any case, it's BIP money, it's public investment money, not someone's money, not President Paul Biya's money, not a minister's money, let alone a governor's money," he mocked. He further adds, "Implementing a project with the public investment budget is not a new thing. I don't know why people are going crazy because we executed a BIP in a Ngaoundéré neighborhood."

Mayor Saliou even mocks the statement made by Governor Kildadi Taguieke Boukar. "He actually helped me by making this broad statement, which is a publicity stunt for me," he says.

The CPDM and the UNDP are allied parties, with the UNDP being part of the presidential majority. However, the two parties often clash in local elections, despite their alliance at the national level.

L.A.