MONTAGU MP Richard Lightbourn

By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Chief Reporter

MONTAGU MP Richard Lightbourn yesterday said Dr. Andre Rollins exercised “poor political judgement” when he spoke against the leader of the Free National Movement (FNM) on a local radio talk show.

Mr. Lightbourn said while he felt the Fort Charlotte MP, a recent convert to the party, could have been less critical, he appreciated the content of his comments concerning Dr. Hubert Minnis’ decision to meet with Livingston “Toggie” Bullard at his home.

The Montagu MP said he did not think the association was significant enough to necessitate that Dr. Minnis resign from office. However, he added that the controversy - specifically the resignation of the party’s chairman - should pressure the party to hold its convention at the earliest possible time.

“I think it was a little poor political judgment some of what he said,” Mr. Lightbourn said. “But I think if you analyse the content and if it was said in a different way, it’s not so critical.

“It’s operating on a principal that the leader was honest; that I think is something we could all understand. But if you operate under the premise that the leader is honest then you don’t need to say something like that.”

Dr. Minnis told The Tribune on Monday that he met three times with Mr. Bullard, a “gang member” accused in affidavits of being hired to commit criminal acts on behalf of Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard.

Dr. Minnis made his admission to The Tribune hours after Michael Pintard resigned as FNM chairman and senator because of concerns over his involvement in in the court action against Mr. Nygard.

Dr. Minnis said Mr. Bullard, his constituent, wanted him to pass on a warning to Mr. Pintard that he was about to be allegedly “set up” by a high-ranking member of the government and others. Dr. Minnis said he never discussed Mr. Nygard with Mr. Bullard, adding Mr. Bullard visited him twice more at his home to give him fish caught on a trip. He said he could not remember the specific dates of these visits.

His revelation came a week after Dr. Minnis referred to Mr. Bullard and Wisler “Bobo” Davilma - who is also named as being a part of the conspiracy in court documents - as “two gangsters, at least one of whom being a former convicted criminal.”

Last week in Parliament Dr. Minnis referenced the allegations of “murder by assassination of persons who were considered to be inimical to the interests of Peter Nygard” and urged for a police investigation into the claims.

Dr. Rollins appeared on Star106.5 FM show “Jeffrey” on Tuesday.

The Fort Charlotte MP called Dr. Minnis’ decision to meet with one of the men at the centre of a lawsuit filed on March 9 in the Supreme Court by directors of Save the Bays (STB) against Mr. Nygard “unwise”.

Dr. Rollins said he found Dr. Minnis’ explanation “comical”, and that FNM leader was in a “no win situation” with nothing he could do to remove the sense of embarrassment surrounding his response.

He added that he would not question the leader’s integrity or the veracity of his claim, because he would ultimately have to resign alongside Mr. Pintard if he was not truthful.

“I have to believe that Dr. Minnis is being forthright and truthful in everything that he says because there’s a price to be paid,” Dr. Rollins said on Tuesday.

“If he’s not being truthful in anything that he has said, any explanation that he has given, then clearly Michael Pintard is not the only person that is going to be asked to resign.”

Dr. Rollins then clarified that Mr. Pintard was not asked to resign but volunteered his resignation. However, Dr. Minnis told The Tribune on Monday that he asked Mr. Pintard to resign on Sunday night because the FNM did not need “deflection” and had to “concentrate on moving the PLP.”

Yesterday Mr. Lightbourn said he felt that Mr. Pintard’s resignation was the proper thing to do because the matter would remain a distraction until it was cleared up. He pointed out that the allegations against senior members of the government should inspire similar action.

He defended Dr. Minnis’ meeting with Mr. Bullard, who he pointed out was a constituent.

“We all have constituents who are not of the best character so at one point in time you probably come in contact with such persons. I don’t think that tarnishes your reputation you can’t ignore people just as you can’t ignore someone that is a different political party. You represent all your constituents.”

Mr. Lightbourn added: “At this point from these affidavits and the transcripts, if they’re correct, the Prime Minister had much more connection with these gentlemen than Dr. Minnis ever had. So if you adopt that same standard then the Prime Minister should step down as well.

“So I don’t think at this time we’ll make the association, so far as Prime Minister Perry Christie and Minnis go, the (allegations) are not sufficient as it stands for them to step down.”

When asked whether the controversy would impact the FNM’s image, Mr. Lightbourn said it was a sad state of affairs.

“We should be at our apex at this point, considering all their (PLP) misdeeds and the state of the nation. Unfortunately that is not the case.

“The chairman, there is framework within the party to determine someone who fills in. Now whether that person would continue to carry the party through to the general election is another thing.”

He added: “I do feel that it should in fact provide some pressure to the party to insure that the convention is held at the earliest possible date.”

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