 Following the February 2006 arrest of several prominent officials—including Alphonse Siyam Siwé, the Minister of Energy and Water—for alleged corruption, Owona said that the arrests had caused some sadness but stressed the RDPC's firm support for Biya's actions.In response to claims in the press that Biya's mandate as National President of the RDPC had expired, Owona dismissed the claims in an interview with CRTV in early July 2006; he said that Biya's mandate had already been renewed by the RDPC Political Bureau and that an extraordinary party congress would not necessarily be held for that purpose.However, Biya scheduled an extraordinary congress to be held on 21 July soon after Owona gave his interview, and Owona reportedly felt embarrassed that Biya had effectively contradicted his own argument.