Togo - 5th Republic: The staff of the former Primature forgotten in the institutional limbo?

One month after the entry into force of the Fifth Republic in Togo, the fate of certain administrative pillars of the former regime, notably the staff of the Primature, now dissolved, remains unclear.

The question is clear: what happens to the staff of the former Primature? As reported by Le Flambeau des Démocrates in issue no. 853 of June 5, 2025, the institutional reorganization that saw Faure Gnassingbé take over as head of the Council of the Republic, while Jean-Lucien Savi de Tové became President of the Republic, left an entire category of civil servants and collaborators out in the cold.

Persistent administrative vagueness

The former Primature headquarters, previously occupied by Victoire Tomegah-Dogbé, has now been reallocated to the Senate, depriving the agents of their usual offices. According to a source quoted by the newspaper, "the former occupants have been left to fend for themselves, without being rehoused in other institutions". Neither attached to the Presidency of the Republic, nor transferred to the Council, these agents, of varying status (civil servants, contract employees or appointed collaborators), find themselves in a worrying professional and legal uncertainty.

Between hypothetical transfers and expected decisions

The most logical option would be a redeployment to the Presidency of the Republic, a structure theoretically emptied of its staff following the appointment of the former Secretary General, Ablamba Johnson, to the equivalent position within the Council. But no clear administrative act has ratified this hypothesisThis has led to concerns that these workers may be abandoned altogether.

In a country where the institutional balance remains fragile, this situation raises concerns about respect for the rights of administrative staff during a period of political transition.

Overlapping skills: Trimua vs Johnson?

Another point of tension highlighted by Le Flambeau des Démocrates In the meantime, we're also looking at the possible redundancy between Christian Trimua, current Secretary General of the Government and spokesperson, and Sandra Johnson, now Secretary of the Council of the Republic. A confusing distribution of roles that could give rise to conflicts of competence, pending the formation of the very first government of the Fifth Republic.

A country awaiting clarification

To date, there has been no official communication to dispel these grey areas. And in this silence, a whole swathe of administrative staff remains in limbo, between legal uncertainty, functional insecurity and social anxiety.

In short, Togo's Fifth Republic is starting out with its share of promises... but also with a still unclear institutional management, where men come and go, but gray areas remain.