In a Tuesday interview, the National President of the People’s New Movement (NMP) dismissed the Sunday debater from Info Tv as a figure with no national influence.

The Cameroonian politician Banda Kani has sharply criticized tribal agitator Elimbi Lobe. Speaking in a Tuesday broadcast on his official page, the NMP leader expressed his deep frustration with Elimbi Lobe, particularly after his remarks on Info Tv—a Yaoundé-based green-screen television channel—where he labeled nationalist Ernest Ouandié as a “bandit.”

“By calling Ouandié a ‘bandit,’ Elimbi Lobe has disgraced himself,” Banda Kani declared. The panafricanist leader argued that Elimbi Lobe lacks the qualities of a strong political figure. “He has reduced himself to a worthless individual. He has become a political actor with no national reach in this country. He has confined himself to the role of a petty canton-level politician pursuing a single goal: becoming a deputy,” he added.

Could he have made such statements while in the SDF?

Tracing Elimbi Lobe’s political journey, Banda Kani highlighted his inconsistency. The NMP leader contrasted Lobe’s current rhetoric with his past statements as a member of the Social Democratic Front (SDF). “His approach is purely electoral. Review his history. Look at his 2011 statements while in the SDF, where he praised national integration. He even celebrated the role of the Bamileke community in nation-building, going so far as to say his best friend—a Bamileke—would be honored by having his name given to his son,” Banda Kani recalled.

“By 2015, he was condemning tribalism. Could he have made such statements while in the SDF? The party would have stopped him immediately. You’re dealing with a small-time politician who believes that becoming a deputy will mark the peak of his political career,” the NMP leader concluded.