A former board member of Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) said his "unlawful" termination from the board in 2018 and the ensuing allegations made against him tarnished his reputation and negatively impacted his relationship with several of his relatives.

In August 2018, former BPL Executive Chairperson Darnell Osborne, Nick Dean and Nicola Thompson were fired from the BPL board after former Minister of Public Works Desmond Bannister said board members were locked at loggerheads on almost every critical issue.

He said this was a great cost to BPL.

But the trio fired back, claiming that “political interference” and a “continuous disrespect” toward the executive chairperson were at the root of the former board’s dysfunction.

The controversy surrounding the termination of the board members and the ensuing comments made by Bannister made headlines for weeks. Then-Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis promised to launch a probe into the ordeal. He never made the report public.

In a witness statement filed on April 18, 2022, Dean said the various statements that Bannister made about him “gravely injured” his character and reputation.

“The statements made by Minister Bannister have significantly impacted my ability to conduct business as a professional and entrepreneur,” he said.

“I have been advised on several occasions by potential public and private sector clients that they would ‘… wait until the whole BPL episode blows over’ before engaging my firm for new business.

“This has negatively impacted my business and undermined an untarnished record of over 20 years of service to the Bahamian construction market.

“My company was not awarded any government contracts for the entirety of Minister Bannister’s tenure despite being one of a small group of top tier engineering service providers in the country. With the exception of this period with Minster Bannister in the position of minister of works, we have consistently won public and private sector work throughout our existence since the company was established in 2000.”

Dean added that his ability to function as a private citizen was impacted as well as he came under undue scrutiny from associates and members of the public.

“Minister Bannister’s statements have negatively impacted my personal relationship with several close family members,” Dean added.

“Prior to agreeing to the board position at BPL, I was warned that public positions can put one under undue criticism and scrutiny. Once the board dismissal occurred and Minister Bannister began making negative and untrue statements in the press about me, my relationship with my spouse and parents became strained as they were not prepared to watch me be mistreated publicly given that we are such a close-knit and private family. This has caused me considerable stress and anguish.”

Dean said his relationship with the other directors and shareholders of his company was strained.

“They have advised me on several occasions of how being associated with me has caused them to miss out on business opportunities due to the public nature of my dismissal from BPL and the statements made by Minister Bannister,” he said.

“They feel that they are guilty by association and are in effect pariahs as far as being selected for public sector work is concerned.”

The fallout from the Osborne, Dean and Thompson’s dismissal led to a nasty public spat between the former chairperson and the then-minister.

The former board members took legal action against BPL.

In statements of claim filed in the Supreme Court in 2019, the three former board members alleged that they were terminated from their positions because they refused to approve a proposal to vary the terms of a deal in the works with Shell North America for a power purchase agreement.

Dean said he learned of his dismissal from the board through social media.

“… Whilst traveling outside of The Bahamas, without cell phone service or reliable Wi-Fi service at that time, I eventually received snippets of information about the dismissal of the boards of BPL via WhatsApp groups,” Dean said.

“Upon my return to Nassau, I was met with newspaper headlines and television reports confirming that the BPL board had indeed been dismissed and that I had been portrayed as the single holdout refusing to resign.”

The Bahamas Electricity Corporation, BPL and the attorney general (in a representative capacity) are listed as the defendants in Dean’s suit.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian