(FILES) In this file photo taken on October 07, 2018 Cameroon's incumbent President Paul Biya (C) looks on as he votes at the polling station in Bastos neighbourhood in the capital Yaounde during Cameroon's presidential election. - Cameroon President Paul Biya has been re-elected to a seventh straight term with 71.3 percent of the vote in this month's election, the Constitutional Council said on October 22, 2018. (Photo by ALEXIS HUGUET / AFP)
President Paul Biya has unveiled his official campaign team for Cameroon’s upcoming presidential election, set to begin on 1 August 2025, with Jean Nkuété appointed as national coordinator.
The announcement, made in a presidential circular dated 23 July, comes against a backdrop of deepening tensions within the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM). Reports suggest a growing rift between Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, Secretary General at the Presidency, and Justice Minister Laurent Esso — a split that risks overshadowing the campaign.
Nkuété, who also serves as secretary general of the CPDM central committee, will lead a team that includes vice-president Grégoire Owona, Gilbert Tsimi Evouna, Geneviève Tjoues, and Yaou Aïssatou from the party’s national women’s office.
A key new element in the campaign structure is the creation of a “cyber cell” to manage digital communications, counter disinformation, and safeguard election results from potential manipulation.
However, sources within the CPDM say all members of the newly announced team are allies or close associates of Ngoh Ngoh, a factor that has reportedly fuelled discontent among some senior figures.
Laurent Esso has allegedly boycotted meetings convened by Ngoh Ngoh since June, with insiders claiming the Presidency’s secretary general has been engaging in “media activism” that bypasses official party structures. “The two men are now at loggerheads,” a senior party member said, pointing to friction dating back to the high-profile Martinez Zogo affair.
In a show of loyalty to the president, Robert Nkili, the 80-year-old vice-president of the Senate, was seen dancing in a loincloth shirt bearing Biya’s image during a mass in Akonolinga on 3 August.
Observers say the dispute reflects a deeper ideological divide between reformist and conservative factions within the CPDM, with Ngoh Ngoh increasingly perceived as the de facto campaign director, sidelining Prime Minister Joseph Dion Nguté.
The question now is whether a campaign marked by internal rivalries can effectively mobilise the ruling party’s base ahead of the vote.
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