President Paul Biya has held serious political discussions with the Prime Minister and Head of Government, Philemon Yang on the Eseka train disaster, the current strike action by the Cameroon Common Law Lawyers and the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.  Our chief intelligence officer in Yaounde the nation’s capital hinted that Biya invited Prime Minister Philemon Yang in order to get a proper briefing on the findings of the Yang Commission, the security situation in the country vis-à-vis the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and also police brutality on Anglophone lawyers.

No official information has filtered from this meeting. But what we do know is that the 83 year old leader is under pressure from the international community to get rid of the all powerful minister of transport, Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo’o. A highly placed government official who spoke to our Brussels bureau chief but sued for anonymity revealed that the European Union including our French partners have expressed concerns over the size of the Biya cabinet which has a sea of ministers doing virtually nothing for the country. Our source also noted that Biya and Philemon Yang examined the appointments of new civil administrators including governors as many are due retirement before the 2018 election period.

By Ebong Kingsley in Yaounde