Jagdeo, Hughes in dispute over personal, corporate-related land deals

Last Updated on Friday, 7 February 2025, 22:20 by Writer

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday released official records showing that Alliance For Change (AFC) Leader, Nigel Hughes personally acquired 75 acres of land after the then APNU+AFC coalition-led administration was in caretaker mode as a result of the no-confidence motion and before the 2020 election results were declared.

But Mr Hughes told Demerara Waves Online News that he never acquired the lands from the State but from a previous leaseholder and so, as part of the process, he had applied to the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC) for the leases to be transferred to him, and in one instance along with another person. He confirmed receiving provisional leases but said repeated formal requests to acquire the full lease from the GLSC have been unsuccessful. “I didn’t acquire those from the State. I bought interest in the lease for two lots at 25 acres…I had applied to the State for it to be transferred and the government refused to allow the transfer of the property, the issuance of the lease,” he said. Mr Hughes said the GLSC went, verified the land and issued a provisional lease then refused to issue any lease. I’ve written them multiple occasions on this,” he said. He said he was informed by multiple sources that the GLSC had effectively frozen his assets because he could not do anything with them.

Concerning the first lease transaction in favour of Mr Hughes and Ms N0reen Gaskin, Mr Jagdeo said that one was dated October 24, 2019, and it was after the December 2018 no-confidence motion was passed and after the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) had ruled that the motion was valid and the APNU+AFC-led administration was in caretaker mode. Similarly, Mr Jagdeo said the two other transactions of 25 acres each were dated March 19, 2020, after the March 2 general and regional elections had been held.

But Mr Hughes reacted, saying that raised the question of whether he could not purchase land from someone.

The AFC Leader, amid swirling controversies over the sale of commercial lands, had called for a suspension of such further transactions because Guyana is in an election year. But, Mr Jagdeo regarded Mr Hughes’ call as one of double standards. “We’re not in a caretaker mode. We’re a government vested with full powers,” he also said.

Mr Jagdeo also assailed Mr Hughes, calling his action “duplicitous” because on the one hand he criticised the sale of commercial land in Ogle, East Coast Demerara, for GY$30 million per acre while a Trinidadian company for which he was the lawyer purchased 20 acres of land for GY$26 million per acre. Further, the Vice President said Mr Hughes eventually became a Director and Company Secretary for the same Trinidadian company that had also bought 10 acres of land at Earl’s Court for GY$10 million per acre.

Mr Jagdeo suggested that company could be punished for failing to build the proposed 72-room luxury apartment building in exchange for the “low price” for the “prime land”. “Nothing has been built as yet. There are penalties under that agreement,” he said.

Mr Hughes declined to immediately comment on that transaction because, according to him, he is director and secretary for several Trinidad companies as part of his law firm’s corporate services. “You have to give me specifics,” he said.

The prominent Guyanese criminal and civil lawyer reiterated his call for an investigation into all the commercial land sales including those to companies with which he is associated.

Meanwhile, Mr Jagdeo denied that New Global Investment Corporation, whose Director/Secretary is Guyanese-American Edul Ahmad, received preferential treatment to acquire commercial land at Ogle at GY$30 million per acre because he is a friend of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP). Mr Jagdeo also distanced himself from Mr Ahmad whom he had over several years publicly stated was his friend. On Thursday, he said “in the last five years, I met this guy maybe casually when he comes here, four or five years,” he said.

He contrasted the PPP-led administration’s land distribution at Wales, West Bank Demerara, where of the 7,138 acres that were handed out 5,543 acres went to 16 individuals. Across at Ogle, he said the lands were not advertised by the APNU+AFC administration but between March 2018 and July 2020, 335 acres were handed out through 16 agreements of sale for GY$30 million per acre and seven were leased. He said 15 of the 23 transactions were done after the March 2020 general elections. A businessman, he said, acquired 200 acres at Ogle.

He added that seven of them were vested after collecting GY$44 million instead of GY$2.7 billion. “This is illegal. You can only vest if you receive full payment… This is criminal,” he said.

Mr Jagdeo said his government has not transferred title to any of the lands unless the developers, including Ed Ahmad, execute works in keeping with the agreement of sale.

At Peter’s Hall, East Bank Demerara, he said 211 acres of “prime land” was leased without valuation, a board or tender process. He said the leases allowed the leaseholders to transfer the property for as much as US$1 million per acre.

“It was a pure rape of the assets of the country,” he added. 

Mr Jagdeo said the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) administration was transferring 50,000 house lots amounting to 30,000 acres to Guyanese.

He said the only group that has received special attention was the Black Entrepreneurs Group that received 60 acres of land for a housing project because they could not do so individually. 

Meanwhile, the AFC Leader Thursday night released an agreement of sale between himself and Simon Munroe dated 28th January, 2016, for the acquisition of 50 acres of land on the western bank of the Essequibo River for GY$2 million. Mr Hughes also posted a letter dated 4th March, 2024, to the Commissioner 0f the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission, Enrique Monize telling him that he did not respond to two previous letters on January 13, 2022, and 19th September, 2023, concerning final leases that were not issued.

Mr Hughes released his documents to rubbish Mr Jagdeo’s claim that the AFC Leader had been awarded 75 acres of land after the no-confidence motion against the APNU+AFC led administration in December 2018 and a ruling by the Caribbean Court of Justice that the then administration was in caretaker mode and before the results of the March 2, 2020, election results were declared.