The member of the Pan-African Parliament on February 20 briefed the press in Yaounde.

Hon. Roger Nkodo Dang, a member of Cameroon’s National Assembly, leader of the country’s delegation in the Pan-African Parliament, says Africa must unite, talk with one voice and support leaders who can ably serve the continent.

He spoke at the Solomon Tandeng Muna Foundation in Yaounde, on February 20, 2012 during a press conference he gave to dispel erroneous information the press disseminated concerning the failure of election of the African Union Commission Chairperson. Hon. Nkodo Dang who participated in the elective AU Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from January 23 to 30, 2012, said some media organs likened the failure of the election to that of the incumbent AU Commission Chairperson, Jean Ping who faced a contender from South Africa, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma. The deadlock in electing the AU Commission chairperson, is a great blockage for elections into other structures of the Union. It equally stifled discussions in other aspects of the summit that had to deliberate on the theme, “Inter-State trade.”

Drawing lessons from the election crisis, the people’s representative said Africans should learn to solve their problems themselves, always arrive at a consensus on major decisions and give capable people the chance to lead. The incumbent AU Commission Chairperson, Jean Ping, Hon. Nkodo Dang said, masters the pressing files of the continent. The African leaders extended his mandate by six months at the end of which elections will hold. Jean Ping’s tenure of office was characterised by crisis in Cote d’Ivoire, the unprecedented revolutions in north African countries and the inability of many AU member-States to pay their contributions.