Joseph Nkili Abossolo is no longer the financial controller of the University of Ngaoundéré. He was called to other duties on August 5 by an order from Finance Minister Louis Paul Motaze. Before that replacement, Florence Uphie Chinje was replaced, as rector, by Mamoudou Abdoulmoumini, and Abdoulaye Babale, Chairman of the Board of Directors, was also replaced.

It is hard not to link the departure of these academic executives to the power struggle they engaged in over the past few months. It all started in January 2022, when Abdoulaye Babale ordered a cancellation of the budget line concerning the rector’s sovereignty allowances, amounting to XAF37 million. The request was supported by Financial Controller Joseph Nkili Abossolo, who argued in a letter that this line had no legal basis, as there was no legal text supporting these bonuses. 

The decision did not go well with Florence Uphie Chinje, who pointed out that rectors heading other state universities are entitled to the same bonuses.  

In May 2022, the dispute resurfaced when the rector decided to report Abdoulaye Babale and Joseph Nkili Abossolo to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (CONAC) for indulging in "corrupt practices." A few weeks earlier, the two opposing parties discussed the hotel expenses allocated to the rector. According to the rector, the budget is XAF6 million but, the financial controller maintained it was XAF1.5 million. In response, Florence Uphie Chinje complained to the Ngaoundéré Court of First Instance.

Finally, Joseph Nkili Abossolo sent a letter to Florence Uphie Chinje informing her that she had reached retirement age.  That letter was countered by a correspondence sent by Finance Minister Louis Paul Motaze who called the finance controller to order. 

"On March 2, 2023, you sent a letter to the Rector of the University of Ngaoundéré, addressing an issue that goes beyond your competence as a finance controller. In that letter, you used a particularly disrespectful and patronizing tone,” Minister Louis Paul Motaze’s letter read.  

Michel Ange Nga