Easily the most hotly contested and tension-packed in Kupe-Muanenguba Division, the reorganization of basic organs of the CPDM party in Tombel have come and gone with the “unity list” led by Samme Mesape giving the list of mayor Rose Ngassa a humiliating drubbing.
The unity list bagged home over 4000 of the about 5300 votes cast, while Rose Ngassa had only a paltry 718 votes. The difference was telling, indeed.
It is worthy to note that Ngassa Rose was badly beaten by the unity list after she rejected an offer for her to join the unity team as leader of the WCPDM list.
Unable to contain the humiliating defeat, Rose Ngassa burst into tears. She said she had been tricked into running in the election. She wailed and sobbed in front of her supporters, confessing to them that she never really wanted to contest in the election in the first place.
Ngassa said her supporters deceived her into believing she was still very popular in Tombel and that she would clinch an easy victory if ever she ran. She lamented how she had spent several millions of francs cfa for campaigns just to get a humiliation at the end.
Observers said Ngassa Rose had been vomited by the populations of Tombel despite the support she enjoys from Central Committee Scribe, Jean Kuete, the SDO for Kupe Muanenguba Haddison Quetong and even the Paramount Chief of Tombel, HRH Dr. Sale.
Political pundits in Tombel said they had predicted Ngassa Rose’s drubbing. They said for a long time now she has been a thorn in the flesh of the people of Tombel, who have spared no opportunity to publicly criticize her for mismanaging the Tombel council.
Many said against the popular will of the population of Tombel, Ngassa Rose was parachuted to the helm of the Tombel Council after the 2013 municipal election.
CPDM militants in Tombel observed that Ngassa Rose has proven over time that she had no development agenda for Tombel; she fought to be mayor just to enrich herself from the council’s coffers. Some others simply dismissed lady Ngassa as lazy and an absentee mayor, who has only wasted the council’s resources with impunity.
“Ngassa Rose has taken the Tombel Council hostage; she runs the council from the diaspora; she deducts money for hired caterpillars that no one ever sees in Tombel; she runs the council as if it was her personal enterprise; she never renders any account to any body,” said a CPDM militant in Tombel, who jumped for joy after the results of the election was proclaimed on Sunday.
Adding his voice, another militant Mesumbe Micheal Ewang echoed:“Pride goes before a fall; Ngassa Rose has finally understood that the people of Tombel disapprove of her continued stay at the Tombel council.”
It should be noted that Rose Ngassa’s crushing defeat in the CPDM election was thanks in great part and perhaps due to the unity and total mobilization of the elite and chiefs of Tombel. Many Tombel residents notably the majority Bakossi population said they have had enough of Ngassa Rose’s insults and arrogance.
Many said her disregard for the indigenes of Tombel had attained unacceptable proportions; the elites and chiefs had to mobilize and withdraw the confidence that they bestowed on her several years ago.
Some observers attributed the victory of the ‘unity list’ to the fact that its campaign was anchored on the development vision of His Excellency Elung Paul Che, Minister Delegate in the Ministry of Finance, who is also the leader of politics in Tombel.
Many Tombel residents who spoke to this reporter said thanks to Minister Elung Paul’s development vision, the first ever fuel filling station is seeing the light of day in Tombel; the water supply is about to be reinforced with some over 400 million FCFA already secured for the purpose. Also, some 20km of earth roads are about to rehabilitated.
However, other commentators hastened to remark that the new found unity and mobilization of the elite of Tombel will be meaningless if it is aimed only to boot out Ngassa Rose from the Tombel council.
They expressed the hope that thanks to this unity the elite will also mount a united front and lobby the government to look into some of the pressing and perennial problems of Tombel notably the very bad inter-connecting roads in the sub-division and the lack of drinkable water among others.
CPDM section presidents for NW & SW
Fako Division
Buea - Mafany Namanga (C)
- Hannah Etonde Mbua (W)
Limbe I - Andrew Mutanga Monjimba (C)
- Eposi Janjo Christiana (W)
- Eyole Haddison (Y)
Tiko - Elame Victor (C)
- Joso Osakam (W)
Muyuka - Lazare Lanjunu (C)
Kupe Muanenguba Division:
Tombel - Samme Mesape (C)
- Njumbe Florence (W)
- Sone Makoge (Y)
Meme Division:
Kumba I - Tabot Lawson alias Njalla (C)
Kumba II - Mbatchu Jacob Kay (C)
Kumba III - Mukwelle Isaac (C)
Mbonge - Otte Mofa Andrew (C)
- Njimba Hannah (W)
Konye - Mayor Mosima George (C)
Ndian Division
Ekondo-Titi - Itoe William (C)
Bamusso - Ngalle Daniel (C)
Mundemba - Mekanya Charles Okon (C)
Manyu Division
Mamfe - Orock
Eyumojock - Mayor Julius Nkum (c)
- Mbi Regina Bate (w)
- Tabe Aziz (y)
Tinto - Eyong Paul (C)
- Princess Emilia Fongang (W)
- Etchu Joseph Eyong (Y)
North West Region:
Bamenda IB - Cletus Matoya
Bamenda IC - Gante Martin
Santa - Fru Jonathan
Balikumbat - Dingha Ignatius
Nkambe - Ngalla Gerard
- Mrs Njuhwa (W)
- Kilah Godlove (Y)
Ndu - Abdou Borno (C)
- Naomi Nfor (W)
- Ngangeh Dieudonne (Y)
