Journalist Guibai Gatama published on 6 November 2026 an anecdote he said the late Ayang Luc told him before his death, in which Ayang Luc recalled a remark he made in June 1983 about Ahmadou Ahidjo and the transfer of power.
Ayang Luc, then minister of Livestock and Animal Industries, was approached by a visitor urging him to attend a meeting of senior officials loyal to Ahidjo, who had handed power to Paul Biya on 6 November 1982 and remained head of the single party, the UNC. The meeting, held some days after a cabinet reshuffle, was described by Gatama as the "Reunion du lac".
Gatama said the visitor told Ayang Luc: "Luc, you know how much President Ahidjo loves you." Ayang Luc replied: "No, President Ahidjo does not love me. He loves Paul Biya. If he loved me, it is to me that he would have handed power." Ayang Luc did not attend the meeting, Gatama wrote.
Ayang Luc, a former prime minister and president of the Economic and Social Council, died on 14 October 2025. Gatama published the recollection on the 44th anniversary of the handover, as debate continues over the vacant vice-presidency created by the constitutional revision of 14 April 2026.
Sources
- Cameroun Actuel Ayang Luc : " si Ahidjo m'aimait, c'est à moi qu'il aurait donné le pouvoir ", l'anecdote révélée par Guibai Gatama
- Actu Cameroun Ayang Luc : " si Ahidjo m'aimait, c'est à moi qu'il aurait donné le pouvoir "
- Le Bled Parle " Si Ahidjo m'aimait, c'est à moi qu'il aurait donné le pouvoir " : l'étonnante confidence d'Ayang Luc avant sa mort à Guibai Gatama