JERMAINE Figueira has lamented the shameful dereliction of national duty, moral collapse, and ethnic division with the People’s National Congress/ Reform (PNC/R).

Figueira resigned from the PNC/R on Saturday evening- adding to a long list of high-profile members who have cut ties with the party.

The departure of Figueira, a respected figure in Region Ten, signalled deepening fractures within the party’s upper echelons and raises urgent questions about its direction, credibility, and future stability.

In a blistering statement on Wednesday, Figueira categorically rejected the current trajectory of the PNC/R, accusing its leadership of abandoning the principles of unity, integrity, and national service.

What was once a platform for unifying vision now flirts perilously with sectarian dogma, the former Member of Parliament said.

“The leadership of the PNCR has, in recent times, exhibited a troubling tolerance for rising ethnic antagonism. In its alignment with elements espousing divisive ethno-political rhetoric, which corrodes the pluralistic foundation of our society, the party has deviated from the tenets of inclusive nationalism,” he said.

While he noted that the decision to resign was not taken lightly, he accused the party of tolerating and enabling ethnic antagonism, betraying Guyana’s hard-fought pluralism.

Speaking on what is going on internally, the former Member of Parliament said there has been an erosion of ethical standards and a descent into vindictiveness, cronyism, and intellectual stagnation.

“The internal culture of the PNC/R has deteriorated from principled deliberation to an insular climate defined by sycophancy, vindictiveness, and the systematic sidelining of faithful contributors. I have personally experienced arbitrary exclusion, and I have witnessed the unjust treatment of long-serving stalwarts such as the late Comrade Amna Ally, even with her passing.

“This is no longer a party anchored in discipline and dignity, it is a structure in retreat from ethical stewardship and true comradery,” the statement further read.

Once a beacon of transformative vision, Figueira said that the party has now “become introspective and reactive rather than visionary and proactive.”

Figueira also condemned the PNC/R’s abandonment of national duty during Venezuela’s aggressive territorial threats.

He also blasted his former party for walking out of Parliament during a moment when the nation required unified defence of its sovereignty, calling it “a betrayal of the very ethos upon which the party was founded.”

Figueira’s resignation, he insisted, is not about political expediency but about principle.

“Let it be unambiguously understood: my resignation is a matter of principle. I cannot, in good conscience, lend legitimacy to a course of action that veers Guyana away from truth, justice, unity, and the national interest. To remain silent in such a moment would be to condone what must be opposed.

“I remain steadfast in my commitment to the people of Linden, Region Ten, and by extension, the people of Guyana.
I am prepared to continue serving faithfully, constructively, and with integrity. I do so not with bitterness, but with renewed hope that we may yet build a politics defined by substance over spectacle, service over ambition, and people over power,” he said