Ni John Fru Ndi, Chairman of the Social Democratic Front party is again facing a rough time, as some party big guns express their dissatisfaction with his handling of affairs. The big guns, over 30 in number, have dragged the party chairman and his Secretary General Barrister Djomgang Adeline to court for constant violations of internal rules and regulation of the party.
Going by their complaint, The Guardian Post reports, they are seeking to have the court declare null and void, a decision signed by Fru Ndi on June 07, 2022, as well as resolutions of the party’s July 2022 National Executive committee (NEC) session.
In the June 2022 decision which appointed shadow cabinet members, the disgruntled SDF members noted that “… regional presidents were not consulted,” a process they note is a violation of Article 7(c) IV of the party constitution.
The standard provision, they remarked, is that “any member of the National Executive Committee must have been an active member for five consecutive years.” Some of those appointed by the Chairman, they stated, had never eeven been active in the party.
Succession dispute in sight?
Among those signatory to the statement, is Honourable Nintcheu Jean Michel who has often been tipped by many, as successor to Fru Ndi. However, his multiple clashes with Honourable Joshua Osih who too is believed to want the position, have not left the party corridors any quiet.
Nintcheu it should be recalled, in 2021 engineered the dismissal of Osih from the Littoral branch of the SDF, after the later appended his signature to a letter by fellow lawmakers on the Anglophone crisis. Osih in a subsequent interview, reiterated that he would sign the letter over again without giving it a second thought.
Osih also survived an attmept by Nintcheu to have him kicked out of the party, on the basis of the renowned Article 8.2 which cites self exclusion from the party.
Other worthy mentions among those standing up against Fru Ndi, include long time collaborator, former MP, Cyprain Awudu Mbaya, Jean Robert Waffo, Chiel Nji Tumassang Yoyo Emmanuel, and Chief Tchatouang Paul.
The dispute and other infighting over the past years have made the ride nothing less than tumultuous for the Social Democratic Front party as well as its Chairman, Ni John Fru Ndi. With the coming of the Anglophone crisis, the party’s already dwindling popularity took a hit and has never been the same since. Fru Ndi too has had multiple challenges, including being kidnapped by separatist fighters, and being called out by the press for body shaming a female journalist at a party gathering.
These followed increasing calls for change at the helm of the party he has ruled for well over 30 uninterrupted years. Fru Ndi and the SDF’s decline was cemented by the 2018 Presidential election where the party lost its stand as Cameroon’s leading opposition to Prof Maurice Kamto’s Cameroon Renaissance Movement party. During the same election, it also lost its string footing in the Anglophone regions where it was birthed.
Today, the party is fielding a few candidates for the March 12 senatorial election in just two regions; Adamawa and North West, another depiction of its massive fall from grace. While it is hoped that the party’s Elective convention brings some new impetus, fears remain rife that it will like many others over the years, end up with the same old content in new containers.
Poise News Desk
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