…says Lindeners are ‘black and hard-headed’
…former PPP members chastise Jagdeo

FORMER Deputy Chairman of the PPP Linden branch, who was also the constituency candidate for Amelia’s Ward during the just concluded Local Government Elections, has left the party, saying he cannot have blind loyalty to a party that does not have respect for Lindeners and which has no respect for its hard-working members.

Akanni Blair has decided to join A New and United Guyana (ANUG) and in an interview with the Guyana Chronicle, noted that there are several reasons why he left the PPP, though he once believed that party had the betterment for the country at heart, but now believes otherwise.

Lately, he said, he and the PPP’s potential prime ministerial candidate Juan Edghill, who is also a pastor, used derogatory racist comments to describe the residents of Linden and Blair said that was the last straw for him.

According to Blair, in a recent party meeting, Edgill allegedly described Lindeners as “black and hard-headed” after the two became involved in a heated argument. He described Edghill as an arrogant and disrespectful man and the PPP’s executives are well aware of his attitude; yet, he was touted as the prime ministerial candidate, while they continue to ignore his behaviour and complaints from its members. “When you complain, you are not given any gratification,” he said.

NOT TRUE
When contacted on the matter, Edghill, said, “there is absolutely no truth to that…I strongly reject and condemn it.” He said that Blair is trying to stay relevant by creating problems in the party and he takes the allegation very seriously, since it implicates him as a racist. “I have a track record being in public life and there is no one that has heard me using racial comments.” The PPP MP noted that he never trusted Blair, though he campaigned with him and made that known to the executives of the party, that Blair has not genuinely fought for the cause of the party.

In addition to the racial allegations levelled against Edghill, Blair said he was utterly disappointed after he was not chosen as the lone councillor, even as he had worked the hardest at campaigning and raked in the most votes, than any other candidate for their constituency. After the results revealed that the PPP would have won one seat, Blair said there were no consultations with the executive of Linden or the candidates to decide who should take up the seat, but instead a long-time friend of the PPP was given the seat.

He also related that no money was provided for campaigning in Linden and believes this is because of how the party views the town. “I asked the top brass what was the criteria used to determine the candidate; nobody could say to me well, we use this as the criteria, notwithstanding 199 votes returned by me and 75 votes returned by the councillor. “I believe that if you are going to make a decision, at least at its minimum, you can say to us together, and move forward and not just put some body in the council,” Blair complained. He believes that it was a a result of his aggressive campaigning, that the PPP received an over 300% increase in votes compared to the 2016 LGEs.

JAGDEO ‘NEWBIE’ COMMENT
Another one of his disappointments came from Jagdeo’s comment of not electing any ‘newbies’ as the presidential candidate, thus ruling out Charles Ramson. “I believe every person deserves an opportunity; Jagdeo himself was hand-picked and the position was basically given to him, so I believe that if there is a young man who believes he is ready and right and he possesses the credentials, he should be given the fairness and equal opportunity, as he would have hold [sic] every candidate up for the position,” he reasoned.
Blair described his position to defect from the party as a solid one and just as he had campaigned hard for the PPP, he will be giving the same selfless service to the ANUG.

“When I look at the leaders of the A New and United Guyana, I believe they are solid, decent, hardworking people, I believe that they will bring something of a fresh nature. They are talking about constitutional reform, it has attracted me, so I was not going to hang around something that I am uncomfortable with, when there is a certain attraction elsewhere, something positive, I am not going by blind loyalty.” He is urging all Guyanese to be smart in making a similar decision when going to the polls, either in 2019 or in 2020, so as to create a shift in power balance, which he believes this country needs at the moment.

ANUG was formed by former People’s Progressive Party (PPP) executive member, Senior Counsel Ralph Ramkarran; former PPP government minister, Dr. Henry Jeffrey; former President of the Guyana Bar Association, Attorney-at-Law Timothy Jonas and well-known city businessman, Terrence Campbell. The party promises inclusive governance and to prioritise constitutional reform.