According to investigators, the Ondimba family has ets worth more than $92 million in France, including two mansions in the city of Nice. Gabon, a former French colony, is a member of OPEC, but its oil wealth is concentrated in a few hands. According to a World Bank report, about 40 percent of the population aged 15 to 24 in Gabon was unemployed in 2020.
Military leader General Brice Cloutier Oligui Nguema was sworn in as the nation’s head of state on Monday, a week after ousting elected President Ali Bongo Ondimba, a family member who ruled the central African country for five decades. General Nguema took the oath of office at the presidential palace in Gabon’s capital, Libreville, in the presence of government officials, military officers and local leaders. Nguema is a cousin of ousted President Ondimba. He served as bodyguard to Ondimba’s late father and head of the country’s top military unit, the Republican Guard. Nguema said on Monday to applause that the military had seized power without bloodshed.
He promised that power would be handed back to the people through free, transparent and credible elections. “The new government has been formed with experienced people and we will give everyone a chance to live up to their expectations,” he said. Rebel soldiers who ousted Ondimba last week said the country was at risk of anarchy. and so they ‘unanimously nominated Nguema as the chairman of the committee constituted to rule until the transfer of power’. Ondimba was president for 14 years and was ousted by rebel soldiers within hours of being declared victorious in the recent election.
There were allegations of large-scale irregularities and lack of transparency in the presidential election in the country. Maja Bowcon, senior analyst at risk essment firm Verisk Maplecroft, said Nguema’s early swearing-in would establish his legitimacy and help him fend off challenges from potential opponents. Ondimba, 64, took power after his father’s death in 2009 and has completed two terms. His father ruled the country for 41 years and over the years there was widespread discontent with his family’s rule. Another group of rebel soldiers attempted a coup in 2019, but was quickly contained. Nine members of the Ondimba family are under investigation in France for embezzlement, money laundering and other corruption charges, according to the French NGO Sherpa.
According to investigators, the Ondimba family has ets worth more than $92 million in France, including two mansions in the city of Nice. Gabon, a former French colony, is a member of OPEC, but its oil wealth is concentrated in a few hands. According to a World Bank report, about 40 percent of the population aged 15 to 24 in Gabon was unemployed in 2020.
Disclaimer: newsinfrance.com has not edited this news. This news has been published from PTI-language feed.