Pres Ali denies asking Campbell to be PPPC prime ministerial candidate

President Irfaan Ali on Friday denied asking city businessman, Terrence Campbell, to be his prime ministerial candidate for the 2020 general and regional elections.

“This is completely false. I never approached Terrence Campbell to be a Prime Ministerial candidate for me or the People’s Progressive Party/Civic,” Dr Ali said in a statement on his Facebook page.

Dr Campbell did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Guyanese leader’s denial came after Dr Campbell said the People’s Progressive Party’s (PPP) presidential candidate had aked him to be his running mate in the polls five years ago. “The hatred poured out on me weekly by VP Jagdeo is amazing. You may find it hard to believe that I was the first person Irfaan Ali approached to be his prime ministerial candidate. At that time Jagdeo had no issue with me,” he said.

Dr Ali conceded that he and Dr Campbell had had “many discussions on political matters in the past” in which the businessman had stated that the PPP-Civic is the only national party and that their policies are pro-people and pro-Guyana. “At no time did I make an offer for him to be a Prime Ministerial candidate.”

The President defended Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, who is also the PPP General Secretary. Instead, Dr Ali said Mr Jagdeo responds “factually and politically to statements and issues”. “It seems that there is a belief among some in the country that they can attack the PPP and its leadership without expecting a response,” he said.

The PPP-Civic’s prime ministerial candidate was Retired Brigadier Mark Phillips.

Dr Campbell has been heavily criticised by Mr Jagdeo after he called for transparency in the spending of oil revenues from the Natural Resources Fund (NRF). He has also joined Alliance For Change (AFC) Leader, Nigel Hughes in raising concerns about the sale of commercial lands, going so far as to lodge a complaint with the United States Department of Justice against the then Chief Executive Officer of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), Sherwyn Greaves for land and property transactions.

Mr Greaves has since resigned from the CH&PA, citing the impact of the social media posts on himself and family.

Mr Jagdeo on Thursday said he was so far convinced that Mr Greaves’ transactions were clean.