Jean de Dieu Moukagni Iwangou, a leader of the opposition Union of the Gabonese People (UPG) has declined to take up the cabinet position offered to him by President Ali Bongo as part of his cabinet reshuffle.
Ali Bongo appointed Iwangou to take charge of the Ministry of Agriculture but the opposition leader declined, undermining the president’s attempt to create a united government ahead of Gabon,s polls slated for next year.
The cabinet reshuffle expanded the cabinet slots to 41 from 34, a move that is seen to have been an attempt to silence the government’s critics who say that Bongo’s family has excessive control of the oil-rich central African authority.
Iwangou declined the post at a press conference on Saturday saying that the decline was a call for unity amongst Ganon’s people who are impatient for change.
Iwangou has been a very vocal figure in the opposition and is the president of the Opposition Front for Change, a coalition by the country’s opposition, dedicated to ending the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party’s 47 years in power.
Another opposition figure, Jean-Robert Endamane also declined to take up his post as Minister for Town Planning and Housing, saying he was never consulted about the appointment.
