-says will not participate in infantile dictates

DISTANCING himself from the historic ‘dog-whistling, race-baiting’ political rhetoric of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), Jermaine Figueira recently called out the party’s leadership for its myopic and irrational tendencies.

Figueira, an opposition parliamentarian who is a prominent figure known for his strong support base in Region 10, recently defended his intractable positions of principle in the political arena.

“I will not participate in dog-whistling and race-baiting political tactics and campaigns designed to keep our people divided… [this] is evident in the two main political parties, this should stop,” the PNCR politician said in a written response to several questions posed to him by this publication.

Last week, the PNCR leader Aubrey Norton replaced Figueira, a senior member of the party with an interim committee to lead the party’s Region 10 arm.

Earlier this year, Figueira was stripped of his portfolio as Shadow Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport and was replaced by Nima Flue-Bess.

This publication was previously informed that these decisions could have been fuelled by Figueira’s decision to go against Norton’s famous “handshake policy” and shake the hand of President, Dr Irfaan Ali.

While Figueira did not confirm this directly in his responses, he stated: “I will not participate in infantile dictates such as not shaking someone’s hand, more so the hand of the President of my country.”

The Guyana Chronicle was reliably informed that the Member of Parliament’s work was classified as “social work” and not “political work,” although reports are that initiatives coordinated by Figueira have amounted to more than what the PNCR has done in years.

“I subscribe to the ‘unification of our people and country’ to see its holistic development where equal opportunities are provided for all Guyanese, regardless of one’s political affiliation,” Figueira said.

While Norton has spoken publicly since replacing the young politician, he has not commented on the reason for sidelining him.