PPP not courting PNCR MP Jermaine Figueira- Jagdeo

Last Updated on Thursday, 11 January 2024, 18:34 by Denis Chabrol

Embattled People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) executive member and opposition coalition parliamentarian, Jermaine Figueira is not being courted to join the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), that party’s General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo said Thursday.

“As General Secretary of the party, we’ve never had any such engagement with Figueira about joining the PPP,” he said when asked by Demerara Waves Online News.

Mr Jagdeo said he was mindful that the PNCR-led A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) supporters would use his response as a means of regarding Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton’s decision to shove him out of the Shadow Cabinet altogether as a form of punishment for engaging in talks with the PPP. “Let me say categorically that that has not happened. ‘No’ so the answer is ‘no, he has not been formally or informally by me requested to be part of the People’s Progressive Party,” he said.

After Tuesday’s Shadow Cabinet reshuffle, Mr Figueira wrote a stinging letter to fellow Central Executive Committee complaining bitterly about the disrespect and lack of appreciation for his work by Mr Norton in creating small business opportunities, feeding the elderly, promoting culture, making representation to the government for Region 10 residents, and supporting several sporting disciplines. “All these initiatives are done even when the party has not been able to do same as a whole or fellow MPs individually. The party leader says my doings are not political work, its social work. Wow! Addressing the needs of people is not political work? Ok!,” he said in his letter which was seen my Demerara Waves.

At Thursday’s news conference, Mr Norton defended his decision to replace Mr Figueira with Ms Nima Flue-Bess as Shadow Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport because she is “activist-oriented”, qualified and knows a lot of people in the sporting arena. He suggested that Mr Figueira was not well-known.

The Opposition Leader said Mr Figueira and other regional parliamentarians would be better off focussing on political work in their regions.

Mr Figueira is also the Chairman of the bipartisan parliamentary Public Accounts Committee.