NOWEFU co-founder wants constitution revised, SG empowered

A prominent Co-Founder of the Northwest Fons Union, NOWEFU, has proposed the revision of the Union’s Constitution to empower the Secretary General, SG, and the General Secretariat to run its day-to-day affairs.

The Co-Founder, who spoke to The Post on condition of anonymity, was reacting to the current leadership crisis plaguing the Union.

He castigated the proposed modified Constitution saying it will still arrogate to the President General too much power - a situation which the Union has been fighting to avoid.

According to him, the modified Constitution will give the Secretary General some power to run the day-to-day activities of the Union, but will not give him the power of signature to any document that commits the Union. But, such a document, he said, must be prepared by the SG and signed by the President General.

“Thus, it will be illegal for a President General to prepare and sign any document in the name of the Union. Also, the General Secretariat of the Union must be in Bamenda, the headquarters of the Northwest Region.”

The Co-Founder explained that such measures and others, will ensure checks and balances in the running of NOWEFU, and will avoid a repeat of the unfortunate situation where the outgoing President General turned himself into a dictator and has transformed the Union into his private property.

“NOWEFU has crashed off the rails under Senator Fon Teche Njei. The situation has been made worse by the deepening conflict between Teche and his predecessor, Fon Chafah, who is as one of the Co-Founders of NOWEFU.”

The conflict between the duo has degenerated due to what Chafah and several other members of NOWEFU consider as a manipulation by the outgoing President General, whose mandate had long expired.

NOWEFU is now in two factions, with Fon Chafah leading one of the factions with all the five First Class Fons of the Northwest. The big five have finally made bold their stand on what they termed Teche’s highhandedness.

Exploiting NOWEFU For Self Aggrandisement

Our source said that some of the former Presidents General of the Union may have also exploited the Union for their own interest, but that the case of Teche is the worst ever.

“That is why he would not give up the post, even after the expiration of his mandate.”

As the Chief Promoter of the Tikari/Chamba Fons’ Forum, El Hadj Lawan Bako, said in a recent interview in an English Language newspaper that; “If you take away NOWEFU Presidency from Teche, you have taken away everything from him.”

NOWEFU has, unfortunately, become an instrument in the hands of Teche, which he uses to strike his deals.

Our informant prayed that the focus of the Union members should not only be to ensure that Teche leaves, but for the image of NOWEFU to be cleansed. He, however, feared that with the current trend of events, the successor of Teche may be worse off.

“That is why the Fons should consider it imperative for the Constitution of the Union to be modified to limit the powers of the President General. If more powers to run the day-to-day activities of NOWEFU, are given to the Secretary General and the General Secretariat, it will allay the fears of some Fons who are objecting the NOWEFU Presidency from going to certain areas, because they Consider Fons in those areas as illiterates.”

Biya’s Controversial Policy On NOWEFU

Meanwhile, observers say the controversial policy applied by President Biya in recent years towards NOWEFU by compensating its leaders with appointments is not helping matters.

This, they say, is one of the reasons why Teche, whose three-year mandate had long expired, is resisting to quit.

According to them, it also explains why some Fons in Donga and Mantung Division, where the Presidency of NOWEFU is expected to go next, have engaged in scheming and dirty lobbies to be elected as NOWEFU President General.

It would be recalled that during Biya’s visit to Bamenda in December 2010, for the 50th anniversary celebration of Cameroon Armed Forces, Fon Francis Aneng of Bafmeng in Menchum Division was the President General of NOWEFU.

Fon Aneng, in that capacity, headed the NOWEFU delegation that presented two royal stools to the Presidential couple and also led a delegation that was received in audience by President Biya.

In appreciation, President Biya reportedly promised to ‘see’ Fon Aneng, instead of the Union.

Biya ‘saw’ Aneng during the designation of members of the CPDM Political Bureau and appointed Aneng who then was not a member of the Central Committee of the CPDM, straight into the Political Bureau.

The appointment was said to be unprecedented in the CPDM, as no militant had ever been appointed to the Political Bureau without being a member of the Central Committee.

The powerful Political Bureau of the CPDM is a very small group which is always presided at by Biya himself.

For Fon Teche, there is no doubt that Biya appointed him Senator in 2013, thanks to his post as NOWEFU President General. According to some Fons, without NOWEFU, Teche, who today dares to throw invectives even at the big five Fons, would have been an unknown name among Northwest Fons.