Ephraïm Inoni (born 16 August 1947)Profile at government website
."Sortie: La chute des baobabs"
, Cameroon-info.net, December 9, 2004 . is a

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

ian politician who was

Prime Minister of Cameroon Under the current Constitution of Cameroon, the Prime Minister of Cameroon is a relatively powerless position. While the Prime Minister is officially appointed to be the head of government, the President retains most of the executive power and c ...

from 2004 to 2009. He was a long-time aide of President

Paul Biya Paul Biya (born Paul Barthélemy Biya'a bi Mvondo; 13 February 1933) is a Cameroonian politician who has served as the president of Cameroon since 6 November 1982.

and is a member of the ruling Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (RDPC)."Biya aide named premier, cabinet reshuffled"
IRIN, December 13, 2004. He was appointed to the position of Prime Minister by Biya on December 8, 2004 and was sworn in that day.

Career

Inoni is an Anglophone and a member of the

Bakweri The Bakweri (or Kwe) are a Bantu ethnic group of the Republic of Cameroon. They are closely related to Cameroon's coastal peoples (the Sawa), particularly the Duala and Isubu. Early survey discussion of these topics may be found in Ardener 1956 ...

ethnic group. He was born in the village of Bakingili, near Limbé, in the Southwest Region of Cameroon. He was Municipal Treasurer of

Douala Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region (Cameroon), Littoral Region. Home to Central Africa's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Ai ...

from 1981 to 1982, then treasurer of the Cameroonian Embassy to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

from 1982 to 1984 and Director of Account Balancing at the Ministry of Finance from 1984 to 1988. He was later named Secretary of State for Finances on April 9, 1992, and then Deputy Secretary General to the Presidency on November 27, 1992, serving in the latter position until his appointment as prime minister in December 2004. Inoni is a member of the Central Committee of the RDPC. He was part of the campaign team for Biya's election campaign in the 2004 presidential election and was the president of the campaign's support committee in the Southwest Province. Biya dismissed Inoni from his post as prime minister on June 30, 2009, appointing another anglophone,

Philémon Yang Philémon Yunji Yang (born June 14, 1947Profile at Cameroonian ...

, to replace him. The reshuffle was the largest shakeup since Inoni's own appointment as Prime Minister.Cameroon's president sacks PM in reshuffle (3rd Update)
/ref> President Biya stated on state radio that twelve ministers were sacked (including Inoni and the defence minister), six joined and three changed places. It is thought that public anger over rising

food prices Food prices refer to the average price level for food across countries, regions and on a global scale. Food prices have an impact on producers and consumers of food. Price levels depend on the food production process, including food marketing an ...

and the high level of government corruption in conjunction with Biya's attempts to shore up support for the next presidential election led to the sacking, while Inoni had been in the midst of securing $140 million in aid from the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...

, although an official explanation was not given. Suspected of corruption during his time in office, Inoni was arrested on 16 April 2012. This arrest came as part of Operation Epevier (sparrow hawk), an anti-corruption campaign launched by President Paul Biya in 2004. This arrest was in connection with Operation Albatross, over the purchase at great expense in 2003 of the presidential aircraft, which turned out to have serious flaws on its maiden flight with the presidential couple from the Douala International airport to Paris in 2004. He was one of a number of high-level officials arrested during the course of a crackdown on corruption. Ephraim Inoni has been under interrogation behind closed doors by examining magistrates as part of the judicial process in the case popularly knowned in Cameroon as the "Albatross Affair". He was placed under pre-trial detention by the Mfoundi High Court in Yaounde."Cameroon ex-PM held in corruption probe: lawyer"
AFP, 16 April 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Inoni, Ephraim 1947 births Prime Ministers of Cameroon Living people Cameroon People's Democratic Movement politicians Cameroonian politicians convicted of crimes Heads of government who were later imprisoned 20th-century Cameroonian politicians 21st-century Cameroonian politicians People from Southwest Region (Cameroon)