Cameroon's long-serving Tourism Minister and former Prime Minister Bello Bouba Maigari, president of the National Union for Democracy and Progress, entered the country's 2025 presidential race without resigning from his Cabinet position, becoming the second senior northern ally of President Paul Biya to do so in recent days, Reuters reported on June 30. Maigari's announcement follows that of Issa Tchiroma Bakary, another influential northern figure and former employment minister who resigned to run.

Biya, who will likely run for an eighth term, has ruled Cameroon since 1982, making him one of Africa's longest‑serving heads of state. At 92 years old, concerns about his advanced age and declining health — exacerbated by lengthy absences from public view and a governmental ban on discussing his condition — have fueled growing calls for him to step aside.