Retired Gen. Pierre Semengue – the cheque bounced
A cheque recently made out by Tombi a Roko, the controversial President of the Cameroon Football Association, FECAFOOT, on the bank account of the association to Gen. Pierre Semengue, reportedly bounced.
The cheque in the amount of 100million CFA, was issued to Semengue in his capacity as President of the professional football league. It was meant to be used in facilitating the opening of this year’s football league in the country.
Tombi had gone ahead to issue the cheque, despite injunctions from lawyers who have sued the association claiming that his election to head the organization was a fraud and thus renders him unqualified to have access to the bank accounts of the federation.
Tombi’s executive is still in court trying to fight the injunctions on the banks. However, his opponents who contest his election had announced he would be sued for attempted theft for trying to withdraw money from FECAFOOT accounts.
In a press release dated 17 January, General Semengue announced that the start of the football season is on the balance as a cheque of 100million FCFA issued by FECAFOOT to the league was rejected by the Commercial Bank of Cameroon for “technical reasons.”
Reports say the federation has sued United Bank of Africa and ECOBANK at the Yaounde Magistrate Court for blocking its funds. They would not disburse funds requested by FECAFOOT president per a decision of the Conciliation and Arbitration Chamber of the Cameroon National Sports and Olympic Committee, which had annulled his election as president.
The federation might have to sue the Commercial Bank of Cameroon too if it emerges that the bank is also withholding its funds for the same reasons as others.
In the mean time, FECAFOOT in a reaction to the press release issued by Semengue over the bounced cheque, stated that the only reason the bank did not honor the cheque was because it was observing new regulations of the Central African Banking Commission, COBAC.
In a press release signed on January 18, Patrick Eugène Ebode Tsanga, Secretary General of FECAFOOT, pointed out the new regulations of COBAC require only bank to bank transfers for amounts equal to or above 100million FCFA.
Pundits and sources at FECAFOOT have condemned Semengue for bringing the matter to the public. They say he issued the January 17 press release just to spite FECAFOOT. According to one of them, the retired army general should have simply contacted FECAFOOT with the bounced cheque, rather than issuing a press release to inform the public that the CBC bank refused to honour it.
The protesting candidates in last year’s FECAFOOT elections still hold that fresh elections must be organized in accordance with the decision of the Conciliation and Arbitration Chamber of the Cameroon National Sports and Olympic Committee.
The group which includes Hamadou Abdourahman, Joseph Antoine Bell among others, hold that John B. Ndeh in his capacity as vice president of the last undisputed executive bureau of the federation is supposed to take over and run the FA till a legally recognised team is elected.
This is due to the fact that former FECAFOOT president, Iya Mohamed is in jail for embezzlement of public funds at the Cameroon cotton development corporation where he was general manager.
No comments:
Post a Comment