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If elected, he will be the first Anglophone to have occupied the office since creation in 1996
The Mayor of the Wum council, Dighambong Anthony Mvo, has received the unanimous backing of his North-West peers to stand as a candidate in the upcoming race for president of the United Councils and Cities of Cameroon, UCCC.
He was endorsed during an enlarged gathering in Bamenda last week which equally saw the putting in place of a regional bureau of the outfit.
Already, Mayor Dighambong Anthony, who is serving a second mandate as mayor of Wum, is seen as favourite for the race.
He is likely to be challenged by three other Francophones at the elective get-together which has been planned for Yaounde.
Since the creation of the association in 1996, no Anglophone has ever been elected president of the group. For 24 years, the association has been in the hands of Dr Emile Andze Andze who hails from the Centre region.
A candidate from the South region is already considered not suitable for the race given that both the ministers of Local Development and that of Finance plus the Director-General of the Council Support Fund for Mutual Assistance, FEICOM, who are already actively involved in process of decentralisation, are from the same region.
Commentators are now unanimous that with the announced Special Status for the Anglophone regions, an Anglophone occupying the post of UCCC president will be nothing less than a show of balance of power.
Why Mayor Dighambong is vying for the office
Speaking shortly after his endorsement last week, Mayor Dighambong Anthony said he was very touched by the wonderful show of solidarity “that was exhibited by the Mayors in crowning my humble self as their flag-bearer at the Presidency for the upcoming elections of the UCCC”.
“I am greatly challenged to work towards achieving this goal,” he added.
Asked how prepared he was for the UCCC top job, Mayor Dighambong said: “I think the greatest preparedness are the blessings of the entire region that I already have, most especially that of my colleagues Mayors as well as the Governor of the North West region who said during the meeting and I quote ‘the North West that I head is a region of trophies and I am therefore expecting the trophy from the team we are sending to Yaounde”.
His vision for UCCC
In justifying why he is gunning for the job, Mayor Dighambong explained that: “The motives of my candidacy for the Presidency of the UCCC are varied and unaccountable, amongst which are: The Presidency has never be occupied by anyone from the two English- speaking regions”.
He said given the socio-political situation in Cameroon at the moment, “and after the Major National Dialogue, it is but normal that we begin to show proof that something is being done and situations are improving and changing to give some hope to those our brothers and sisters in the bushes”.
He said if elected “it would give our great and emerging Nation a national and international dignified image”.
“We will have to reform the UCCC by revising the constitution and making many more offices and committees of the UCCC vibrant, for example, we have 6 Vice Presidents in our association, so we would have each vice president in charge of an aspect of Decentralisation,” he added.
“We would have to Construct a National headquarters of the UCCC as well as request all the Regional Bureaus to do same, which of course was the wish of the outgoing team and their President, Dr Emile Andze Andze,” he pledged, before adding: “My special and outstanding performance back at the level of my council achieving much with very little. To give some dynamism with a younger generation as a member of the National Bureau of the YCPDM and member of the Menchum permanent Divisional Delegation of the Central Committee, to have the opportunity in managing state affairs. Since independence, Menchum has never seen any of its son or daughter appointed to the post of minister, Director General, Secretary of State amongst others. I think this is the time for Menchum to be in the spotlight”.
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