In a rare public appearance following months of silence, Dieudonné Minlama Mintogo has issued a stark warning to Gabon’s new leadership. Speaking exclusively to the press, the 2016 presidential hopeful cautioned that the greatest threat to the country’s stability is not economic instability or institutional fragility—but the political risk of reducing President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema’s sweeping mandate to a partisan agenda.

After maintaining a low profile since the April 2025 presidential election, Minlama has re-entered the national conversation with an analysis likely to spark debate across Gabon’s political spectrum. He emphasizes that the president’s electoral victory—secured with over 94% of the vote—reflects a mandate far broader than any single party or ideological faction could claim.

Mandate rooted in national unity, not partisan division

According to Minlama, the unprecedented electoral support for President Oligui Nguema is not merely a political endorsement—it is a reflection of collective national aspiration. This mandate, he argues, emerged from the historic events of August 30, 2023, and was reaffirmed during the restoration of constitutional order. “The gravest error would be to convert a people’s mandate into a party’s project,” he asserts, signaling deep concern over the narrowing of political space.

His remarks underscore a growing unease: the fear that governance may increasingly favor a narrow circle of actors, sidelining citizens, civil society leaders, and political figures who contributed to the Transition and the nation’s rebuilding process.

Unity at risk: the danger of a two-tier republic

Minlama points out that the strength of President Oligui Nguema’s leadership lies in its ability to unite diverse segments of society. The Transition, he notes, was endorsed by a wide range of political sensibilities, all united by a shared desire to move beyond the country’s past divisions.

He warns that any move toward exclusion—whether ideological, regional, or partisan—could erode the spirit of national cohesion that gave rise to the Fifth Republic. The real challenge ahead, in his view, is to sustain this spirit of inclusion by building an open government that draws on the full spectrum of Gabon’s talent, beyond party lines.

Honoring the spirit of August 30

At its core, Minlama’s message is a call for vigilance. Though President Oligui Nguema’s mandate is exceptional in scale, it was granted not to a faction, but to a unifying figure. The success or failure of Gabon’s new political era, he suggests, will hinge on the government’s ability to preserve this inclusive vision.

The 94% electoral victory, Minlama cautions, is not a political asset to be leveraged—it is a historic responsibility to be fulfilled with integrity and inclusivity.