28 Facts About Issa Tchiroma

Issa Tchiroma Bakary was born on 10 September 1949 and is a Cameroonian politician who served in the government of Cameroon as Minister of Transport from 1992 to 1996 and has been Minister of Communication since 2009.

Issa Tchiroma is the President of the Front for the National Salvation of Cameroon, a minor political party.

Issa Tchiroma is notorious for dismissing as fake news a video of Cameroon soldiers killing women and children in the north of the country.

When soldiers attempted to overthrow President Paul Biya in a coup attempt on 6 April 1984, sparking days of fighting in Yaounde, Issa Tchiroma was in Douala.

Issa Tchiroma continued going to work at Regifercam, but he quickly came under suspicion of being involved in the coup attempt; he was a northerner, and northerners were considered to be primarily responsible for the coup attempt.

Issa Tchiroma was incarcerated at the Kondengui prison before being moved to the Yoko prison.

Issa Tchiroma was Secretary-General of the National Union for Democracy and Progress, an opposition party, in the early 1990s.

Later in the year, after Biya controversially won the October 1992 presidential election, Issa Tchiroma was appointed to the government as Minister of Transport by Biya on 27 November 1992, along with another UNDP leader, Hamadou Moustapha.

In 1996, while serving as Minister of Transport, Issa Tchiroma urged companies in the United States to invest in Cameroon, saying that the country could not develop without foreign investment.

Issa Tchiroma departed the government on 19 September 1996, when Joseph Tsanga Abanda was appointed to replace him as Minister of Transport.

Issa Tchiroma ultimately left the ANDP and rejoined the UNDP at a January 2002 party congress in Maroua.

Issa Tchiroma joined other northern politicians in signing a September 2002 memo decrying the government's alleged marginalization and neglect of the north and urging that more attention be paid to addressing the north's problems.

At the time of the October 2004 presidential election, Issa Tchiroma was part of the opposition coalition and denounced President Biya, urging the people to vote him out.

Issa Tchiroma took that stance even though Bello Bouba and the UNDP leadership chose to support Biya's candidacy.

Issa Tchiroma headed a panel that was tasked with choosing a joint opposition candidate for the election, which would have improved the opposition's chances of defeating Biya.

Issa Tchiroma later left the UNDP again and founded a new party, the Front for the National Salvation of Cameroon, which was officially registered in January 2007.

Issa Tchiroma particularly stressed his support for extending the 45-day period for organizing a new presidential election following a vacancy in the office, arguing that it was "almost impossible" to do so within that length of time.

Issa Tchiroma argued that removing the presidential term limits would promote a climate of peace and stability by avoiding the uncertainty associated with a presidential succession, and he said that would in turn encourage foreign investment in Cameroon.

Issa Tchiroma alleged that foreign agents were working to destabilize Cameroon.

Issa Tchiroma said that he initially took it as a joke and that he was very happy when he learned it was true, while stressing that "the responsibility and challenge is enormous".

On 17 August 2009, Issa Tchiroma announced that he had ordered the closure of Sky One Radio due to "multiple infringements of laws governing communications in Cameroon".

Issa Tchiroma said that he had tried three times to reach an agreement with the station management, but was unsuccessful; he added that the station would be reopened if the management "promises to respect the code of ethics and the ministry's specifications".

Issa Tchiroma said that Ngota had been HIV positive and that he had died due to infections that had "overwhelmed" his weakened immune system, despite the best efforts of prison doctors.

Issa Tchiroma noted that a high level of peace and stability had been preserved in Cameroon, in contrast to many other African nations.

On 21 June 2010, Issa Tchiroma announced the news that the wreckage of a missing plane carrying the Australian businessman Ken Talbot and the rest of the board of the mining company Sundance Resources had been found in Congo-Brazzaville following an extensive search.

Issa Tchiroma dismissed the asylum-seeker's claims, arguing that the man had nothing to fear from the law.

Issa Tchiroma stated on 20 April 2017 that Biya had ordered the restoration of internet service in Anglophone parts of Cameroon, where it had been cut off in January 2017 due to unrest.

Issa Tchiroma said that the denial of internet service was no longer necessary because the situation in the Anglophone regions had largely returned to normal.