capacity, succeeded Oba at SOTELCO in a ceremony held on 18 March 2008. Sassou Nguesso appointed one of his advisers, Akouala (known only by one name), to head the company on 28 March 2008. Oba's dismissal occurred soon after his refusal to participate in the RMP, leading to speculation that he was dismissed as a retaliatory move. In a March 2008 interview with Jeune Afrique, Sassou Nguesso said that there was no relationship between the two events and noted that he had still had Oba's support, despite the latter's unwillingness to participate in the new grouping. Sassou Nguesso was terse on the matter and gave no specific explanation: "His term expired; I decided not to renew it. That's it." After his sacking, Oba remained loyal to Sassou Nguesso and allied to the constellation of parties supporting Sassou Nguesso. He was the Honorary President of the Women of the Presidential Majority (FMP) in late 2008, when that group was organizing and mobilizing in preparation for Sassou Nguesso's presumed candidacy in the July 2009 presidential election. He was also the Honorary President of the Youth of the Presidential Majority (JMP) in late 2008. Some JMP leaders criticized Oba at that time, and in turn the MSD Political Commission, defending Oba, denounced those JMP leaders; the MSD stressed the importance of unity and cooperation in support of Sassou Nguesso's upcoming re-election campaign. Speaking to university students in Brazzaville on 21 June 2009, Oba called on the students to work for Sassou Nguesso's re-election and do their part to ensure a strong voter turnout. On behalf of the MSD, he signed an agreement on supporting Sassou Nguesso's candidacy with the PCT and the Club 2002 - PUR on 25 June 2009. Oba was reportedly involved in a conflict with Akouala, who had succeeded him at SOTELCO (since rebranded as Congo Télécom), by late 2009. As part of his parliamentary constituency work, Oba began setting up various places in Talangaï's Quarter 68 to serve as public centers of communication and entertainment, complete with large television screens and available every night, in January 2010. Although the launch of the project coincided with the African Cup of Nations football tournament, Oba stressed that the centers would also be valuable as a way of informing the people about events. On 3 October 2010, Oba visited his constituents to discuss parliamentary work. Explaining a bill regarding an agreement with