Power Struggle at Elecam: Tanimou Openly Defies Fonkam

             Dr. Samuel Fonkam Azuu                       Mohaman Sani Tanimou

The battle line seems to have been drawn. The Director General of Elections Cameroon Mohaman Sani Tanimou recently openly defied the Board Chair Dr. Samuel Fonkam Azuu. 

Read this piece by John Mbah Akuroh on the deadlock bordering on implosion, at ELECAM. 

The working climate at Elections Cameroon, ELECAM has gone from bad to worse, and the situation may soon degenerate even further, were the texts creating a kind of dualism at the helm of the institution not to be given another reading the fastest possible. In the earlier stages of this crisis, many observers pointed fingers to a desire to control the billions generally set aside for the management of the body and elections when they come by. Time has, however shown that Dr. Fonkam Samuel Azu’u has no intention to manage money; he has persistently placed the deputy GM of Elections as manager of the special fund meant for the activities of the Board Members during elections.
The attitude of the Director General of Elections, Mohaman Sani Tanimou, towards his hierarchy has been decried over the years, and his CPDM comrades averred that even within party circles, he always carried himself around with a lot of airs, disrespecting everyone along the line. This explains why there is little or no surprise in high places that Sani is rocking ELECAM and openly threatening and showing disdain towards his boss, Fonkam Azu’u.
In a letter he addressed recently to the President of ELECAM, a copy of which a French Language tabloid, Le Messager, published last Friday, Sani makes clear his position on happenings at ELECAM, noting that he had no accounts whatsoever to render to the ELECTORAL Board, let alone its President, Fonkam Azu’u.
In the correspondence, Sani says; “I have the honour to tell you once more to leave me alone to carry out my assigned duties. Elections Cameroon is placed under the supervision of the Electoral Board, but the Board does not resume to one man, be it the President. Consequent on this, I wish to let you know you are not qualified to issue me a query”. In an apparently angry tone, Sani urges Fonkam Azu’u to respect the provisions of the law, particularly the Electoral Code.
The tone gets even harder when Sani notes; “Can the President of the Electoral Board say which powers he has? Enough is enough, I have tolerated a lot of this provocation and I will not take it anymore”. As if he thought Fonkam Azu’u would not understand his vitriol better, he pushed the diatribe further; “Let me remind you that the fact that the Electoral Board is the supervisory authority does not mean that it should substitute the Director General of Elections and officials of ELECAM branches in the country. Each of the two organs has to exercise its functions, according to the law”.
Sani went as far as calling on the Board to account for their expenses to him because the texts give him custody over the funds at ELECAM, meaning he could be called up at any time to sit in the hot chair whenever there are lapses. Explaining further, the embattled Election Scribe wrote; “The Director General of Elections shoulders criminal and civil responsibilities while Members of the Electoral Board enjoy immunity and are protected against any legal action. I urge you to take note of this henceforth.
While pointing out that Board Members work only in sessions, he underlined that he is charged with ensuring the day-to-day running of Elections Cameroon. Sani took the opportunity to emphasise that it is not part of the duties of Electoral Board Members to carry out field trips, disturbing his delegates along.
In a tone that seemed more like snarling at the Board Members, Sani notes; “Board Members should stop going to disturb delegates in the field. People want to exercise functions they are not assigned to. The law is there to be respected”.
Sani’s anger is justified by some of his supporters at Elections Cameroon by a statement made by ELECAM President, Fonkam Azu’u, in response to questions from journalists at a press conference in Bamenda recently. They also say the Board has been infringing on Sani’s prerogatives by inviting his collaborators to meetings and even seminars without his authorization.
The last appointment of regional delegates that was vetoed by the Director General of Elections also came under the scanner, but other sources at ELECAM simply held that Sani’s resolve is to constantly humiliate Board Members because he learnt they had once recommended that he replaced.
This outing by Sani is clearly sure to create greater confusion and breed more conflict at an outfit that is battling to convince the public that they can have trust in them. The several trips undertaken by Electoral Board Members to the field have had the merit of galvanizing voters to register, as well as get political actors cooperate with ELECAM.