Norbert Wasso
The enigmatic and at times controversial political leader, His Majesty Celestin Bedzigui has again stirred the hornets’ nest. In a bombshell declaration on Saturday, June 12, 2025 during his party’s congress at the Congress Hall in Yaounde, Bedzigui amidst thunderous applause, told his militants and guests that he is quitting the political stage and handing over to the younger generation.
The applause was in more deafening when he called on specific political leaders notably 83-year-old Bello Bouba Maigari of the National Union for Democracy and Progress, NUDP, 75-yearl-old Issa Tchiroma Bakary of the FSNC both of whom recently resigned from the government, 71-year-old Prof. Maurice Kamto of the MRC and 92-year-old President Paul of the CPDM to join him and quit the political stage.
Bedzigui, leader of the Liberal Alliance Party, PAL in French, said all of them have held the political space hostage for too long and time has come to free the space for the younger generation to take-over. Bedzigui thundered that “I Bedzigi I will not be candidate for my party. I have done what I should do to hand the relay baton to the younger generation because I am already too old. I therefore call on Issa Tchiroma, Bello Bouba, Maurice Kamto and Paul Biya to do same. We are already old, let’s allow the youths, let us free Cameroon, our time is up and gone, the youths no longer want us, let us go, let us go…”
Bedzigui and his PAL party have bben there since the return of multi-party politics flirting with the opposition and government. He even at one point had an alliance with the NUDP becoming a Special adviser to Bello Bouba which he ditched.
The brilliant economist exited the country for a while and took abode in the United States. His political activities had gone under the radar. He is back trying to take centre stage.