All other members were reappointed by President Paul Biya on March 24, 2016.
President Paul Biya on Thursday, March 24, 2016, signed a decree reappointing most members of the National Communication Council, CNC. However, Jean Bruno Tagne, former Political Editor, ‘Le Jour’ daily newspaper and now Deputy General Manager in charge of Information, Canal 2 International Television, was dropped. Guibaï Gatama, publisher of ‘L'Oeil du Sahel’ bi-weekly newspaper, was appointed in his place.
The CNC team is now made up of Guibaï Gatama, Suzane Kala Lobe, Nadine Machikou Ngameni, Alifaki Abdourahman, Jean Claude Ottou, Charly Ndi Chia and Christophe Bobiokono. Jean-Tobie Hond remains the Secretary General, while Peter Essoka and René Mvoto Obounou were appointed President and Vice President respectively about five months ago. The CNC term of office is three years, renewable once.
Guibaï Gatama, who read Mass Communication in Egypt, has over the years carved a niche for his paper, which focuses, like the name suggests, on happenings in the three northern regions of Adamawa, North and Far North. Since the advent of the Boko Haram conflict, the ‘L'Oeil du Sahel’ has become one of the most reliable sources of information on breaking news from that region.
In December 2012, he was arrested by gendarmes because of a story published in his newspaper on the alleged handover of about 31 suspected Boko Haram members captured by the Cameroonian military to Nigeria. Guibaï Gatama was voted journalist of the year in 2014 by the Association of Diplomatic Journalists for his daring reports on the Boko Haram insurgency and the challenges of living in northern Cameroon.
The newspaper publisher has in recent times been actively involved in civil society actions, becoming the leader of the ‘Collectif Unis pour le Cameroun.’ The grouping of journalists organised the ‘Great Patriotic March Against Terrorism’ in downtown Yaounde on February 28, 2015, which was attended by an unprecedented crowd, including cabinet ministers and foreign diplomats. The grouping has since continued to raise public awareness against terrorism.
