West region: 70 Traditional Rulers Pledge Allegiance to Biya

This public pledge has dented a declaration that was made by the Council of Traditional Chiefs of the West (CCTO) on November 19, 2020, wherein they pointed out certain discrepancies they held concerning some government policies and especially their handling of the crisis in the Northwest and the Southwest regions.

This latest collection of traditional rulers who have alienated themselves and their thoughts from the declaration of the Council of Traditional Chiefs of the West have shown that the solidarity in which the first declaration was given out was completely non-existent.

In the first declaration by the CCTO, the chiefs opined that a military solution which the government has employed in the troubled Anglophone regions is counterproductive.

They also recommended that the government stops all military clampdowns in favor of an all-inclusive dialogue. They suggested that the government should organize a framework for consultation between the government and political parties to ease the tense atmosphere that has reigned since the 2018 Presidential Elections.

However, 70 other traditional rulers who have dissociated themselves from the declaration have pledged their allegiance and full support to the Head of State, President Paul Biya.

Contrary to the terms of the November 19 declarations by the CCTO, the 70 breakaway traditional rulers have expressed full support of the government’s handling of the situation in the Anglophone regions.

They equally stated that they are in total approval of any measure that the state will seek to provide to restore peace in the country.