Brice Oligui Nguema Wins Gabon's Presidential Election. Can He Defeat The Country's Severe Income Disparity?

Brice Oligui Nguema has won Gabon's presidential election that was held on April 12, 2025, according to preliminary election results reported by some media on April 14, 2025.

Brice Oligui Nguema wins Gabon's presidential election. Can he defeat the country's severe income disparity?

General Brice Oligui Nguema who led the military coup that toppled controversially elected President Ali Bongo in 2023, and brought to an end an over 5 decades of consecutive rule by members of the country's Bongo clan, is said to have won the presidential election with over 90% of the vote hence a landside victory.

Gabon is one of Africa's wealthiest countries with GDP per capita of $7803 as of 2023 by the World Bank. The income wealth accrues from the country's massive natural resources that include: oil, natural gas, manganese, iron ore, gold, uranium, timber from dense forest cover, fertile arable land, ample fresh water sources, among others.

However, Gabon's wealth is unevenly distributed due to poor governance and egoistic economic policies that were inherent in the Bongo clan rule. That has led to severe income disparity, with only a small segment of the population, consisting mainly of elites, taking the bulk of the wealth. As such, 33% of the population live below the $5.5 per day poverty line, including 8.2% who live in abject poverty of less than $1.90 per day, as of March 2025 by NCESC Geographic Pedia. The impoverished segment of the population is said to lack access to basic human needs like adequate food, clean water, housing, healthcare, education, etc.

One of major challenges President-elect Brice Oligui Nguema will be confronted with, may therefore be how to tackle the prevailing severe income inequality in the country, to ensure that the whole population benefit from national wealth generated through extraction and exploitation of the country's vast natural assets. That may involve introduction of new mining legislations to ensure, e.g., local processing of mineral ores through introduction of mineral ore refineries; controlled deforestation; local processing of timber; economic diversification by lets say stimulating indigenous industrialisation; enhanced generation of public goods like social housing, a national healthcare system, free universal education, etc. All these revolutionary economic measures are quite feasible if Gabon commences the new post-Bongo clan era by taking full control and management of its natural assets itself with the sole overall purpose of ensuring that all its people benefit more from revenues accruing from its natural resources. The measures will lead not only to increased revenues from natural assets and improvement of public facilities and services, but also creation of jobs hence reduction of unemployment that is said to be very high among youths.

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