Former Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis will address the Free National Movement's (FNM) Mount Moriah Constituency Association on March 21, according to the association's chairman, Bennett Minnis, who said yesterday the party's leadership has no authority to dictate who speaks at the meetings.

This will represent the latest sign of divisions within the FNM, whose dirty laundry was hung out to dry last week as the Garden Hills Constituency Association defied the leadership's directive that the former prime minister, who is the former leader of the party, not be allowed to speak at its meeting.

A March 4 letter from FNM Chairman Dr. Duane Sands to FNM Garden Hills Constituency Association Chairman Zendall Morley alleges that Morley failed to hold monthly meetings of the constituency association's executive board, rendering the association "inactive".

Sands wrote that the inactive status of the association was being referred to the party's National Executive Committee.

The letter also included a demand that Morley stop all activities in the name of the constituency association.

However, Morley went ahead with a constituency meeting on March 7 where former Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis was the guest speaker, despite attempts by the party's leadership to block that from happening. Morley insisted that he did nothing wrong and followed the party's constitution.

"Dr. Sands cannot dictate to us in Mount Moriah," said Bennett Minnis in an interview with The Nassau Guardian yesterday.

"He tried it in Garden Hills, but he couldn't do it. Mount Moriah is part of the FNM, but we take care of our own bills.

"He might try it with one or two weak constituencies, but Mount Moriah is not a weak constituency."

Bennett Minnis added, "We support the leadership of the party, but who we choose to speak at our meeting, that's our right, not Dr. Sands'.

"He can't tell us what to do from what we mustn't do. So, I don't listen to him. I don't pay attention to him.

"We are not a weak constituency, and if he wants to talk about expulsion, then he can go right ahead.

"We are not afraid of being expelled from the party. He can't expel us. We are FNMs."

The party's leadership sees Minnis as taking action to undermine current leader, Michael Pintard, and believes he is already campaigning to make a run for the leadership once again.

On Tuesday night, Minnis told reporters, however, that he respects leadership.

Other constituency chairmen have stated that Minnis will speak at their branches, including Carmichael Constituency Association Chairman Peter Outten, who claimed last week that a party vice chairman called him and threatened him with the same fate as Morley if he allowed Minnis to speak.

Outten declared war on the FNM leadership.

Yesterday, Bennett Minnis insisted, "He (Sands) can't expel anybody. He can say what he wants to say, but he can't dictate and tell us what to do from what we mustn't do, and I maintain that. We invited Dr. Minnis to speak at our constituency association on the 21st. Dr. Minnis will speak.

"The national party does not pay Mount Moriah's bills. We don't ask them for anything. We support the party. We support everything the party had. We support the leadership. We support Pintard, the leader of the party. As long as he is the leader of the party, he has my full support as chairman of Mount Moriah constituency and the executive.

"If there's a convention and anyone else wants to run, then we will make a decision then whether we will continue to support the present leadership or support someone else. But until then, I don't give it a thought because we support the party. We are FNMs. We support the leadership of the party."

The Nassau Guardian observed last week that the decision by the group of constituency association chairmen to express support for Minnis addressing their association meetings exposes deepening fissures and dissent within the opposition party.

Asked last week about the expulsion threat made to Morley, Sands said, "An organization is run by rules codified in its constitution and bye-laws. Officers charged with stewardship ought to ensure that both are upheld."

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