Although Oligui Nguema is a cousin of the Bongos he has secured the acquiescence or even active support of many critics of the old regime such as Alexandre Barro Chambrier – now deputy prime minister – and the current national assembly vice-president François Ndong Obiang as well as prominent civil society voices including Geoffroy Foumboula Libeka and the senator and environmental campaigner Marc Ona Essangui...

Alexandre Barro Chambrier leader of the Rassemblement pour la patrie et la modernité (RPM) argues that Laccruche Alihanga was supposed to pave the way but 'blew up en route'...

'The government plan is to break up the opposition coalition ' says Alexandre Barro Chambrier a former Bongo-loyalist who has taken his Héritage et modernité faction out of the ruling Parti démocratique gabonais (AC Vol 57 No 7)...

The former Chairman of the African Union Commission Jean Ping left in 2014 and last month the PDG's Héritage et modernité faction led by Alexandre Barro Chambrier and Jonathan Ignoumba was expelled...

This slap in the face for the party pushed its Héritage et modernité faction led by the former Mines and Hydrocarbons Minister Alexandre Barro Chambrier to declare on 10 March that it would support anyone but Bongo...

Economy Minister Magloire Ngambia and Mines Minister Alexandre Barro Chambrier jointly signed off on the cancellation of the joint venture agreement between Gabon and China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) in December 2011 (AAC Vol 5 No 4 China loses Bélinga)...

On 13 January Mining Minister Alexandre Barro Chambrier revealed that ‘accelerated discussions on Bélinga’ were under way...

Economist Alexandre Barro Chambrier did well becoming Mining Minister after failing to win the BEAC presidency after the bank’s financial scandal (AC Vol 51 No 20)...

Now Mining Minister Alexandre Barro Chambrier is talking about a ‘global re-evaluation’ of the Bélinga deal which sources say could mean the contract will be cancelled and awarded to another company...