Sone Bayen Sizes Up Potential Replacement for Sona Ebai, former CDC Board Chair

A Sone Bayen's Reflection

Azong Wara Andrew

It is a difficult and painful task for me, as a son of Manyemen, Upper Balong, bereaved by the demise of my village traditional ruler, Chief Hope Sona Ebai, to discuss his replacement at the helm of the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC) Board of Directors even before he is laid to rest. However, events or an occurrence has imposed this on the public space with the release of a letter recommending Andrew Azong Wara for the position. It cannot be too soon anymore to begin sizing up the declared candidate and other potential ones, most of whom may not even be aware or interested.

The next board chairman will be the eighth, counting from VE Mukete who held the position from 1960 to 1982, SML Endeley (1982 - 1990), Etame Massoma (1991 - 1992), NN Mbile (1992 - 2003) , Namata Elangwe (2003 - 2014), Benjamin Itoe (2014 - 2021), Hope Sona Ebai (2021 - 2026).

Excepting Massoma who held the position briefly during his tenure as governor of the Southwest Province at the time, all other six CDC board chairmen have been from the Southwest. Of the six, excepting Endeley who was from Fako Division, the rest have been from Greater (Grand) Meme, that is the former Kumba Division of early West Cameroon or areas later associated with it, that is Ndian, Kupe-Muanenguba and Meme divisions.

Nfon VE Mukete was a Bafaw from Kumba in present-day Meme Division, Hon. NN Mbile a Batanga from Ndian Division, Hon. Chief Namata Elangwe a Bakundu from Kake near Kumba in Même Division, Justice Chief Benjamin Itoe a Bakundu from Bombe near Kumba in Meme Division and Chief Hope Sona Ebai an Upper Balong from Manyemen near Nguti in Kupe-Muanenguba Division. This could give the impression that the position has been zoned to the Grand Meme area, which is not uncommon in the Cameroon administrative system over the years. Some say it is for Kupe-Muanenguba, others say for Nguti Subdivision but Dr Chief Atem Ebako, noted for his outspokenness, says it is an Upper Balong position, thus another Upper Balong indigene ought to be appointed there.

Besides chairmen of CDC's board of directors, the government-owned company is at its fourth Cameroonian general manager with Franklin Ngoni Njie from Fako Division in the Southwest Region since 2012. The pioneer GM was John Niba Ngu from Baforchu in Mezam, Northwest Region (1974 - 1988). He served successively with Mukete and Endeley as the board chairmen. Next was Peter Mafany Musonge from Fako (1988 - 1998), who served with Endeley, Massoma and Mbile. Musonge was succeeded by Henry Njalla Quan from Fako (1998 - 2012), who served alongside Mbile and Elangwe. The current GM, Njie has worked with three board chairmen -- Elangwe, Itoe and Ebai. He awaits his fourth.

Created in 1947 and previously owned by colonial authorities, CDC is an agribusiness producing oil palm, rubber, banana and coconut. Most of its plantations are in the Southwest, with a few in the Littoral and West regions. Its Ndu Tea plantations in the Northwest were sold to a private owner, Baba Ahmadou Danpullo, who now runs them as part of Cameroon Tea Estates.

CDC is the second biggest employer after the government, with about 12,000 workers. Of its 16 top management staff, eight are from the Southwest Region, five from the Northwest and three from the West.

Boards of Directors chairpersons, ostensibly voted by board members but actually the choice of the president of the republic, are often retired or private citizens with a certain experience and stature. Their familiarity with the sector may count.

With the demise of Chief Hope Sona Ebai on 4 March (funeral 23 - 25 April) it is only expected that someone else will be picked, sooner or later, to fill the vacant position of board chair, however much pain that may bring to us, his kinsmen. A few names come to mind:

AZONG WARA

His recommendation letter from the CPDM Mezan 1C Section in Nkwen, Bamenda, Mezam Division of the Northwest Region, circulating on social media, is addressed "TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN", dated 9 May 2026 (five days following the death of the incumbent) and signed by the section secretary general Ntam Michael Ntam (the president did not sign). It presents the merits of Azong Wara as a CPDM faithful and chairman of the John Ngu Foncha Foundation.

Azong Wara is best known and fondly remembered for his no-nonsense role in forcing the hand of the government in accepting the creation of the GCE Board in 1993. As president of Teachers Association of Cameroon (TAC), he gave steady and strong leadership in the fight to redeem the degrading standards of the GCE examination under the Ministry of National Education at the time. He was appointed as the pioneer registrar of the GCE Board, serving from 1993 to 1997. In his retirement as a teacher, he has been mentioned or associated back and forth with the ruling CPDM, SDF, SCNC and other Anglophone movements. But does that matter if he is suitable for service and disposed to serve?

In about the strongest justification advanced for appointing Azong Wara as CDC board chairman, the letter states: "To make the majority laborers in the CDC feel more belonging, we feel that it shall be wisdom appointing him as Board chairman. This will boost production and productivity."

NFON MUKETE IV EKOKO

Should the first class traditional ruler of Kumba and paramount ruler of the Bafaw be picked for the position, he would be stepping into the shoes his father wore for 22 years and left 44 years ago. He would also be "returning home" to reside in the very CDC chairman's residence in Bota where his family lived when he was born.

But for that to happen, the law prohibiting cumulation of functions, especially legislative functions and executive appointments would have to be disregarded or he would be required to quit his Senate seat, to which he was appointed by President Paul Biya.

Mukete would not be chairing a board for the first time. He was the board chair of UBA bank for 13 years until 2021. He is currently the first vice president of the Chamber of Commerce, board member of Cameroon Investment and Promotion Agency and senior advisor of Globeleq Cameroon (Dibamba Power Company/DPDC and Kribi Power Company/KPDC).

NAPOLEON NYAKE

He is already a board chair at CDC -- its Tenders Board. For a couple of years now he has been presiding over CDC's Tenders (contract awarding) Board. He was also on the board of the Southwest Development Authority (SOWEDA) representing the cocoa sector.

He is no stranger to public administration. He has held senior managerial positions at two state companies -- the National Cocoa and Coffee Board and AES Sonel.

Though recently retired from parapublic service, he shows signs of preparation for further service. He is on course to be admitted into the Bar as a private lawyer at the end of his pupillage. By the way, he never stopped studying even while serving at high level. On top of his Law degree from the University of Yaounde in the early 1980s, he later obtained another in Public Administration and an MBA in human resource management.

Nyake is a community leader. He stands out as one of the most distinguished Secretaries General of the Southwest Elites Association (SWELA) in the early 2000s. Breaking from SWELA's initial provincialist assertiveness with a posture of confrontation, Nyake transformed SWELA into a development-focussed outfit. Not much has been heard about SWELA after his tenure.

His community inclinations came early; maybe a family trait. He is the nephew of the historical figure, Nzoh Ekanghaki, remembered in Nguti for his sense of community belonging. As a university student in the early 1980s, he was instrumental in founding the Nguti Subdivision Cultural and Development Association (NGUSCUDA).

Nyake's political affinities may not be well known but he is known to have been on the CPDM campaign delegations for Paul Biya in Europe for the 2025 presidential election.

HERBERT EDIAGE

He would be moving from one board chair to another if appointed to CDC. He is currently chairman of the Board of Directors of the Southwest Development Authority (SOWEDA) since July 2019.

A Bakossi from Nyassosso, Tombel Subdivision in Kupe-Muanenguba Division, he acceded to the SOWEDA position after taking his retirement from the public service where he was a tax inspector. He was a regional delegate for Taxes before his retirement.

DR CHIEF ATEM EBAKO

Like the others, Dr Chief Atem Ebako is no stranger to a board of directors. He has been a member of CRTV's Board of Directors for many years.

He is also no stranger to the oil palm sector. As an influential actor in the establishment of Herakles Farms (SG-SOC), the American agribusiness in the oil palm sector with its offices, oil mill and some of its plantations in his Talangaye village in Upper Balong, Nguti Subdivision, Atem Ebako knows a thing or two or three or more about oil palm, CDC's main crop.

A CPDM hardliner and unapologetic supporter of President Paul Biya, he was the pioneer president of the Southwest House of Chiefs and vice president of the Southwest Regional Assembly. He was a vocal member of SWELA from its inception in the early 1990s.

He holds that with the death of Hope Sona Ebai, the position of CDC board chair should remain in Upper Balong.

ALBERT ENOW MAKIA

He is the least known of them all. He is a private sector man, through and through.

A native of Betock (Manyemen), Upper Balong, Nguti Subdivision in Kupe-Muanenguba Division, he is a Cooperative and Management expert and has served as General Manager of the Southwest Farmers' Cooperative (SOWEFCU) where his older brother, William Ebot Makia was pioneer GM from the 1970s. He is currently manager of Green World Consultants (GWOCON).

Makia is competent in Project Study, Development and Management; Small Business Development and Management and Entrepreneurial Development/Coaching.

He has been a consultant for SOWEDA, German Technical Cooperation (GiZ), Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV) and Agricultural Infrastructure and Value Chain Development Project (AIVDP).

He is president of the Kumba branch of the Upper Balong Cultural and Development Association (UBACUDA), with increasing calls on him to take over the national bureau whose mandate long expired. He is also president of the PHS Kumba Parents Teachers Association (PTA).

There are possibly others from Upper Balong, Nguti Subdivision, Kupe-Muanenguba, Grand Meme, Southwest and Cameroon at large, with the competence to fill the void left by Hope Sona Ebai, traditionally enthroned chief of Manyemen. As his funeral approaches (23 - 25 April), please spare a moment reflecting on our plight and wishing us well. Remember us.