Some senior staff of the National Assembly have been urged to fully harness their intellect, expertise, and experience to inject renewed dynamism into the structures of the legislative institution. The Clerk of the House, André Noël Essian, made the call while installing the recently appointed staff in Yaounde on Tuesday, June 9, 2026.
In his address, Essian reminded the more than 25 senior officials from the Office of the Speaker, the Questor’s Services, and the General Secretariat that their appointments are a strong mark of confidence from the hierarchy and form part of the new vision driven by Speaker Hon. Theodore Datouo, anchored on the core principles of rigor, competence, and efficiency.
The Clerk said the appointments come with responsibilities and constitute a call for greater commitment, discipline, and dedication, with emphasis on serving the general interest rather than personal objectives. He urged the officials to become architects of efforts to strengthen the administrative and institutional performance of the National Assembly.
In what appears to be a major reshuffle affecting several loyalists of his predecessor, Speaker Datouo on Monday, June 8, effected significant appointments within the administration of the legislative institution.
Hon. Datouo, who was elected Speaker in March this year, introduced major changes in the departments of human resources, documentation, planning and transport, parliamentary affairs, and protocol, among others.
At the Speaker’s Cabinet, Hon. Datouo appointed two Special Advisers to the Speaker: senior journalist Jean Claude Attou and senior administrative officer Jean Jacques Sidje Weme. He also appointed Kouogan Kouyep Guy as Head of the Speaker’s Private Secretariat. The Speaker brought back Ahmadou Ndottiwa as Director of Protocol, a position he had previously held concurrently with that of Special Adviser to the Speaker until October 2022. In addition, Datouo appointed 11 technical advisers to the Office of the Speaker, three of whom are women, as well as a Deputy Finance Inspector at the Questor’s Services.
In a separate decision, the Speaker ordered that Order No. 2022/13/28/AN/CAB/PAN of October 20, 2022, issued by his predecessor to appoint a Special Adviser to the Speaker, together with all its legal consequences, be rescinded.
Hon. Datouo also made significant changes to strategic directorates placed under the administrative supervision of the Secretary General (Clerk) of the Lower House of Parliament.
Under the new appointments, Ibrahimou Boubakary, a Senior Parliamentary Clerk who previously served as Mission Steward at the General Secretariat, was named Director of Human Resources and Legal Affairs. Mabel Awudu Nshi Ndikum, who previously served as Deputy Finance Inspector at the Questor’s Services, became the new Director of Projects, Planning, and Transport.
The Speaker also appointed Koula Ndimis Elise Flore as Director of Monitoring and Government Oversight, and Nke Atangana Guy as Director of National Assembly Buildings. Meanwhile, the directors of the African Parliamentary Institute of Yaounde, Documentation, Archives and Research, Parliamentary Affairs, Legislative and Linguistic Affairs, Financial Resources and Budget, as well as the Accounting Officer of the House, retained their positions.
The National Assembly reshuffle marks one of the first significant administrative decisions under Datouo’s leadership since his election as Speaker in March 2026. The Member of the National Assembly for Bangou in the West Region succeeded longtime Speaker Hon. Cavaye Yeguie Djibril, who had led the lower house for more than three decades.
