Ahead of the October polls, the leader of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement, CRM, party Maurice Kamto has unveiled a special development plan for Northern Cameroon. The four-page document, released this week, outlines key priorities for the Far North, North, and Adamawa regions, including improved security, food security, infrastructure, and even the symbolic return of former President Amadou Ahidjo’s remains.
As political momentum builds ahead of Cameroon’s 2025 presidential election, opposition leader Maurice Kamtohas unveiled a targeted development plan for Northern Cameroon, a region he describes as “strategically vital” to the nation’s future. In a four-page policy statement released on July 9, Kamto called on residents of the Far North, North, and Adamawa regionsto unite behind his candidacy.
He positioned the proposal as an excerpt from his larger campaign manifesto, expected to be officially presented in the coming days. “I call on the political and intellectual elites, traditional rulers, religious authorities, civil society organizations, women, youth, and the entire population of the North to support my candidacy,” Kamto declared. Kamto’s development plan is anchored on five major pillars: improving security, eradicating famine and malnutrition, closing regional development gaps, rehabilitating infrastructure, particularly roads, and organizing the repatriation of former President Amadou Ahidjo’s remains, currently interred in Senegal.
The leader of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement, CRM, emphasized that the North has long been plagued by poverty, educational setbacks, underinvestment, and recurrent crises such as cholera and flooding. He described his initiative as both a humanitarian and political commitment. “The Northern regions suffer disproportionately from the ills of underdevelopment,” Kamto stated. “My engagement is driven by the well-being of the people and the urgent need to act where the state has failed for decades.” In an emotionally charged pledge, Kamto also vowed to organize the official return of Cameroon’s first President, Amadou Ahidjo, as part of a national reconciliation process.
He stressed the importance of acknowledging the country’s history and honoring its foundational figures. “There is no nation without a history, nor history without great figures,” he said. “Cameroon’s political history has been written in pain, often under authoritarian rule. It is time to heal divided memories.” Kamto’s statement comes amid shifting political dynamics in Northern Cameroon. The resignation of influential northern political figuressuch as Issa Tchiroma Bakary and Bello Bouba Maigari from government posts has opened new political space.
Analysts suggest that the North is becoming an increasingly competitive electoral zone that could play a decisive role in the outcome of the October polls. With this regional development blueprint, Kamto aims to consolidate support in what many now consider Cameroon’s new political battleground. His campaign team says more detailed national policy proposals will be unveiled in the coming weeks.
