Atanga Nji Paul, Minister of Territorial Administration has called on the ten regional Governors to wage a ceaseless war against public disorder ahead of the October 2025 Presidential Election in Cameroon. He made the clarion call during the First Biannual Governor’s conference 2025 that held in Yaounde from the 16 to the 17 of July, 2025 on the theme “The Challenge of Maintaining Public Order During the Electoral Period: For a Credible, Transparent, and Peaceful Presidential Election.” MINAT Boss, Atanga Nji Paul, headed the meeting attended by ten governors from across the regions in Cameroon. Present was Galax Etoga, the Secretary of State for the National Gendarmerie and Martin Mbarga Nguelle, the Delegate General for National Security, who in a closed door session brief governor’s on the state of security in the country.
Discussions focused on the upcoming Presidential Elections with the aim to reinforce strategies for a secure and orderly process. Addressing the Governors, the Minister reminded them of their constitutional duty to maintain peace and order in their respective regions. He urged them to exercise vigilance and leadership throughout the electoral period to guarantee a serene and credible election.
“Our population must feel the reassuring presence of the State,” he stated, adding that the government is firmly committed to a peaceful democratic process. The Minister further instructed all administrative authorities to provide unconditional support to Elections Cameroon (ELECAM), the body in charge of organizing the election. He praised ELECAM’s professionalism and dedication. Minister Atanga Nji also addressed the case of the MRC party which boycotted the 2020 municipal and legislative elections.
Citing the Electoral Code, he clarified that the party’s absence from those elections renders it ineligible to present a candidate for the 2025 presidential elections. However, he acknowledged that a representative of the party may still seek endorsements from elected officials, as permitted by law.
On matters of security, Minister Atanga Nji warned against acts of incitement, hate speech, tribal propaganda, and attempts to destabilize the country.
He declared that any such acts during the electoral period will be met with firm and uncompromising legal action.
Protecting citizens and preserving public order, he stressed, remain non-negotiable obligations of the state.
At the conference, the Chairman of the National Communication Council was invited where the Minister beckoned him to sensitize journalists against press excesses, noting that certain programs have become platforms for undermining government actions, attacking national institutions, spreading tribal hatred, and promoting insurrectionist narratives. The point was to get the communication regulatory body, to Intensify sensitization against bad press practices that render the country vulnerable to hate speech and insurrection.
The Minister instructed governors to establish pre-election security cells, monitor political parties, NGOs, and associations, and scrutinize their funding. Once candidates are validated by the electoral body, no form of protest or disruption will be tolerated. Highlighting Cameroon’s vibrant media and multiparty democracy, Atanga Nji pointed to over 700 newspapers, 200+ private/community radio stations, and 25 private TV channels. However, he condemned the misuse of these platforms to spread hate speech and disinformation. On the security front, he praised the synergy among defense and security forces, which has kept the nation largely peaceful, even in the face of cross-border threats. “Despite provocations and the silence of radical opposition, peace reigns across the country,” he noted. Drawing from President Biya’s past warnings particularly from 1992 and 2017, Atanga Nji reminded all political actors that national unity is sacred, and no political ambition should undermine it. “We must not play with the hammer,” he echoed, in reference to attempts to seize power outside democratic means. “No one will be allowed to disrupt public order or challenge our institutions,” he concluded. “Strength will remain in the law.” As the conference ends, the message is clear: Cameroon is determined to safeguard peace, democracy, and sovereignty firmly, lawfully, and without compromise.
