His urgent task is to organise the 50^th anniversary of Reunification.

March 29, 2012 was a memorable day in Buea as thousands turned-out at the Bongo’s Square ceremonial ground for the installation of Bernard Okalia Bilai as the Governor of the South West Region. Commissioned by President Paul Biya to install the in-coming Governor, the Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralization, Rene Emmanuel Sadi prescribed objectivity, fairness, determination and the meticulous organization of the Head of State’s visit to Buea for the celebration of the 50^th anniversary of Reunification, as the cardinal objectives of Governor Bernard Okalia Bilai.

In an installation speech laced with sustained applauds, the Minister enjoined the people of the South West to ever remain committed to the institutions of the Republic and the guarantor President Paul Biya. While urging the in-coming Governor to remain vigilant at all times, to monitor the social climate and make sure that peace and calm reign throughout the South West, he called on the population to collaborate with the authorities and give the new Governor all the support he needs at the helm of the Region.

In a welcome address, the Mayor of the Buea Municipality, Mbella Moki Charles did not only harp on the loyalty of the people of the South West to State institutions, but propelled the vitality of the Region as the breadbasket of Cameroon and a constellation of the country’s diversity. He labelled the forth coming Golden Jubilee celebrations of Cameroon’s Reunification in Buea as a “glorious opportunity” in a land of “oil fields and oil wealth.” While hailing the projects government has realized in the Region, he cited bad roads as the major challenge facing Governor Bernard Okalia Bilai. Cognizant of his past record as SDO for Fako, he called him “a friend, brother, father”; and entreated him to tackle strenuously the current horrendous crime wave in Kumba, stop clandestine transporters “encouraged by some government workers" , curb or totally stop the activities of motor bike riders in urban areas.

Prior to the ceremony, Minister Rene Emmanuel Sadi had separate discussions with traditional rulers of the South West, Mayors, the South West Elites Association (SWELA). The in-coming Governor was appointed on March 14, 2012 by a Presidential decree in replacement of Koumpa Issa appointed December 9, 2011 as Secretary of State in the Ministry of Defence in-charge of Ex-Servicemen and War Victims.