SGPR Sneaks Into Bamenda On Sideline Of Vatican SOS Visit
The Secretary General at the Presidency of the Republic, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh sneaked into the capital of the northwest region in Saturday January 30, 2021, unannounced. He was received by the governor of the region, Adolphe Lele L’afrique. The SGPR’s visit comes on the sidelines of the visit of the Secretary of State for the Vatican, His Eminence Pietro Cardinal Parolin.
The SOS is in Bamenda to hand over the Pallium, a Catholic vest of authority, to the new Archbishop of Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province, Andrew Nkea.
On Saturday Frank talks were held between the SOS, bishops and the population who decried continuous rights violations by military and separatist fighters.
Both parties have have been fighting a four-year long war that has greatly affected the activities of the Church.
Bishops told the Vatican’s SOS that since they wrote a letter to President Paul Biya, seeking an audience to discuss on the crisis, he has remained silent.
It was also revealed that Paul Biya rejected mediation offer from the Catholic Church.
Earlier on day two of his visit, His Eminence Pietro Cardinal Parolin, met President Paul Biya in Yaounde where both men discussed peace and reconciliation in the ongoing conflict in Anglophone Cameroon.
The visit of the SGPR to Bamenda seems to have triggered from the peaceful atmosphere Yaounde predicted with the visit of a clergyman. The Separatist fighters in respect for a religious body like the Catholic Church will not dare to fire gunshots in Bamenda that has become the “Baghdad” of Cameroon.
