By Tata Mbunwe
Renowned anti-corruption lawyer and Univers party presidential candidate Akere Muna made a dramatic exit from the 2025 presidential race, endorsing former Prime Minister Bello Bouba Maigari hours after launching his own campaign in Tiko, Southwest Region.
Muna joined Bello Bouba on Sunday, September 28, just a day after campaigns began, becoming the second candidate, after Ateki Seta Caxton, to throw his weight behind the National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP) leader.
Their alliance trims the active presidential field from 12 to 10 contenders, though all 12 names, including those of Muna and Ateki, will remain on the ballot since the withdrawal deadline has passed.
Analysts say the presence of their ballot papers could still dilute Bello Bouba’s votes, but the three-man pact rekindles hopes of a united opposition front, widely believed as the only viable path to unseating President Paul Biya, Africa’s second-longest-serving head of state at 92 years old.
Biya, who left for Geneva on the eve of the campaign launch, had dispatched his ruling CPDM machinery across the country’s 10 regions, with senior government officials and civil servants leading his campaign using his portrait.
Many observers believe no single candidate can defeat him without a coalition.
Barrister Akere Muna, who has been crusading for opposition unity, told reporters in Douala after endorsing Bello Bouba that his priority was never to be President himself, but the creation of a “new republic” through strategic reforms.
“The core of my message is not being president; it’s carrying out an objective,” he said.
“Once I’m satisfied that the main preoccupations I carry can be achieved by someone else, I’m satisfied.”
He outlined three key goals driving his endorsement of Bello Bouba, adding that their visions align.
“So the most important thing for me is to fight against corruption, the second thing is the crisis in the North West and South West and the third thing is to ensure we go to the best of decentralization, which is federation. Once I got the go ahead from President Bello I thought it was okay to work with him. I will be campaigning with him. In other parts I might go alone, but major rallies we will do together,” he added.
A lawyer for over four decades, Akere Muna is internationally recognized for battling corruption, including the high-profile case against multinational oil giant Glencore, accused of bribing Cameroonian officials for cut-rate oil deals.
During his Tiko rally on September 27, he blasted the Biya government for shielding corrupt officials, insisting corruption can only be uprooted if the regime is removed.
Muna now says Bello Bouba shares his anti-corruption agenda, making their alliance a natural fit for Cameroonians seeking change.
