The Cameroon Association of English-speaking Journalists, CAMASEJ, on August 22, 2015, in Kumba in the South West Region elected a new executive for the next four years.
The election brought to the helm of CAMASEJ CRTV's Simon Lyonga, who beat Franklin Bayern by 71 votes to 14. The election, which was by list, brought together over 100 media members, though only 85 were eligible to vote having paid their annual due of FCFA 10,000.
Simon Lyonga took over from Tricia Oben of CRTV Douala who held the position for six years. Other officials are Vice President, Larry Esong, Secretary General, Henry Kedjang, Assistant Secretary General, Takus Carine, Treasurer, Nformi Sanda and Financial Secretary, Rose Obah. The rest are Assistant Financial Secretary, Richard Ndeh, Public Relations Officer, Bridget Ndip Asam Mbiwan, Organising Secretary, Taryang Tabe and Auditor, Tita Gillian.
In his acceptance speech, the newly elected President appreciated colleagues for the confidence bestowed on him. He said the national executive remains the administrative arm of the association while Regional and Divisional Chapters are the decision-makers.
Simon Lyonga promised that workshops will be organised to upgrade the reporting skills of CAMASEJ members. He announced that all newly elective national executive members who held positions in various chapters have to hand over within a month.
He assured members that transparency and accountability will remain their watchword. “I am humbled and will humble myself to only be a President and not ruler. I count on all of you to put hands on deck to move the association forward more than ever before,” Simon Lyonga noted.
Three contestants submitted their lists for the election but the third, Jude Njinjuh of Eden Newspaper, during his three-minute campaign surprised everyone by calling on his supporters to vote for Simon Lyonga.
Before the election proper, some hardworking members were given awards by the former executive while copies of the CAMASEJ Handbook were distributed to members. At the end, the new executive made former President Tricia Oben CAMASEJ Honorary President.
