Friction ensues in Meme SDF stronghold

Fear and uncertainty has reportedly gripped some high profile militants of the Social Democratic Front, SDF party, in Kumba, Southwest Region over an alleged interest of one of the advisers of the Prime Ministers' office, Thomas Eyambe, to gun for Regional Council elections through votes from SDF support.

The uncertainty, The Post learnt, stemmed from a recent inter quarters competition organised by Eyambe in his native Kumba III Subdivision to mark the end of holiday activities and help students return to school stress free.

From the inception of the tournament till its ending, friction is said to have emerged within some SDF militants, particularly those nursing ambitions to sail through to the regional Council for fear of losing their opportunities to an elite who trades his political opinion in the CPDM party.

According to one of such aspirants who refused to be named, the decision to have a Mayor to the SDF run Kumba III Council, John Kona Makia, support Eyambe in his inter-quarters tournament angered some opposition diehards who claimed to have been privy to the political undertone of such a social move.

The party is said to have recorded pockets of in-house disagreements on whether the Mayor should have been part of the gesture from his tribesman or not.

The same source substantiated that, Eyambe is nearing retirement from the civil service, besides facing political competition from CDPM heavyweights in Fako Division where he campaigned in the last municipal elections in favour of the CPDM.

John Kona Makia, SDF district chairperson for Kumba III cum Mayor to the Kumba III Council told The Post Tuesday, September 9, that Eyambe has no such intentions and so there is no cause for alarm. Going by Makia, the era of playing the politics of discord and bitterness is over; reason why his council supported the move of Thomas Eyambe.

Makia disclosed that, the cup donor had earlier confided in him and other party officials as if he knew there was going to be trouble that, the day he (Thomas Eyambe) would be seen campaigning to become a Mayor, Councilor or even Government Delegate, he should be taken to a psychiatrist.

However, the Mayor admitted that there were some militants who gave Eyambe's tournament a political connotation which almost caused some in-house friction. He added that, all Eayambe, whom he described as a brother did, was to spur development and keep his community in good form.

The SDF District Chair reflected that, even if that were to be the case, on the day of the elections, the SDF councilors who are interested will face the electorate to defend what the Council has done.

Makia argued that if truly Eyambe was scheming to become a regional councilor, then he would have opted for a one-on-one discussion with councilors who make up the suffrage and not instituting an inter-quarters competition. Attempts to get Eyambe narrate his side of the story were not successful.