Buea politicians are jealous of my job – Ekema

Ekema Patrick Esunge, Mayor of the Buea Council has said vicious politicians in Buea should stay off his back and allow him to attend to the needs of the people.

He made this claim while speaking to the press on the sidelines of a ceremony to extend New Year wishes to the council administration organised by staff delegates of the Buea council last Thursday, March 19, 2015.

“I want to seize this opportunity to inform the citizens in the municipality that the state of Cameroon is a state of law and that our job descriptions are well defined. Each and everyone should focus on his own job,” Ekema said.

With a straight face, Mayor Ekema added that, “You will never see me performing the job of a Senator. So, they should stop poking their nose into my office. If they are looking for issues to discuss, they should not discuss the council.

The senator doesn’t represent a council area. Senators represent regions and the state so they should stop nosing into my affairs.”

Though Ekema failed to mention names, one could be read from his words that he was referring to the former mayor of Buea, Senator Mbella Moki Charles.

In Ekema’s own words, he noted, “…I think in the 11 years that they were in this position that I am currently occupying, the public can bear witness that we can hardly find any infrastructure that can be tagged to their management.

But for one year, there is a lot we can talk about. There is a long list that we cannot exhaust in this interview. So, if people want to talk, they should talk and limit themselves to their job descriptions. They should not nose into my job. If they want to become mayors, they should wait for another five years. The match can be replayed. You can be a senator and decide to drop the office and come back to the council as a mayor.”

The reactions of Mayor Ekema are not unconnected to the recent edition of the CRTV Television Programme – Inside the Presidency – that had as guest, Senator Mbella Moki Charles.

The senator had during the programme said he had no regrets leaving the Buea Council for the Senate.

“11 years of service at the helm of a very strategic council like the Buea Council was enough time for me to look forward and look at the bigger picture.

For 11 years, we rendered service to the people of Buea diligently, without reproach … people talk about some of the things we did together,” Senator Mbella Moki had said on CRTV.

Senator Mbella Moki however, refused to comment on his relationship with Mayor Ekema Patrick who succeeded him at the Buea Council. He said Ekema is his mayor and that is it.

The senator however lamented about the non-existence of a plan to manage the projects that came with the 50th anniversary of reunification.

But Ekema says, “Why do they keep being jealous of my job? They should allow the mayor to work and access the municipality. I’m not saying that they don’t have a right to express themselves on television programs, but if the subject matter doesn’t fall within their competences, they should not comment on it; they should stop making noise when they are not supposed to.”