Bamenda Council: Gov’t delegate, Tender Board Chairman at war

The Government Delegate to the Bamenda City Council, Vincent Ndumu Nji is reportedly learning how to cope with someone who does not bother about what the law says when it comes to making personal gains. The laws, some people are quick to say in Cameroon, are meant just for the show and article two of appointment decisions or decrees bearing on the “advantages of all sorts” must not be only those “provided for by the regulations in force”.

That is why tension is brewing gradually between Ndumu Nji and the Chairman of the tenders’ board of the Bamenda City Council, Khan Moses Elroy. Mr. Khan, also known as “man of God” has the arduous task of presiding over the meetings of members of the tenders’ board to examine files brought in by contractors for the execution of various jobs in the City Council area in total transparency and fairness.

Only few months into his job, a source at the Bamenda City Council told this reporter that Ndumu Nji is embarrassed already by denunciations from some contractors who are convinced that the days of fairness at that tenders’ board are over.

Although it was difficult to get some of those businessmen concerned to talk to this reporter on-record, those who agreed to talk on condition of anonymity revealed that huge sums of money are being asked of them, purportedly at the behest of the Chairman of the tenders’ board to guarantee success.

At the Bamenda City Council, Ndumu Nji has since his appointment as Government Delegate, worked to his wits end to introduce and enforce transparency in the management of public affairs, sources at his office said.

The appointment of the former Paymaster General in the North West Region to the post of Chairman of the tenders’ board was received with a lot of enthusiasm as many people know him as a God-fearing servant and doer of the Word.

If the revelations of the past few days are anything to go by, then the authorities that proposed Khan for the position and those who named him there should be brooding right now under what in management circles is referred to as an “error of judgment” on the personality of the appointee.

That is why there is near commotion at the place and fears are rife that the tension could become overt and hinder the execution of contracts.

In the face of this untoward revelations, a credible source at the Government Delegate’s Cabinet told this reporter that Ndumu Nji is even considering a call on hierarchy to pray that Khan be replaced as soon as possible as Chairman of the City Council’s tenders board “for the sake of transparency and fairness” in the contract award process.

The Government Delegate, Ndumu Nji was not immediately available to comment on this story, just as all attempts to get Khan to either confirm the allegations or dispel them yielded no fruits. Even SMS messages left on Khan’s handset were not responded to by press time.