The Tribune

By DANA SMITH

Tribune Staff Reporter

dsmith@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Perry Christie had said he will address the controversy surrounding the government’s stem cell plans and an alleged PLP relationship with Peter Nygard in the House of Assembly today.

However, the House has now been adjourned.

The prime minister was scheduled to address the matter in Parliament, last week, but the House suspended before it was his turn to speak.

He explained to The Tribune on Saturday that he did not pursue the matter and attempt to speak in Parliament because the House would have run on late into the night.

He said it will be in today’s sitting of the House that he will take note of and speak on the issue.

The Opposition has spoken out against the government with party leader Hubert Minnis saying at Thursday meeting that he plans to table an affidavit that will prove that billionaire fashion designer Peter Nygard gave money to the PLP.

In his contribution to the stem cell debate, Montagu MP Richard Lightbourn told House members that it is speculated that Mr Nygard, a resident of the Bahamas, was expecting certain approvals in return for donations to the governing party’s election campaign.

Since Mr Nygard’s relationship with the government has been the subject of intense scrutiny, numerous PLP MP’s have come to his defence. They say that over the years Mr Nygard has given generously to various causes, particularly sporting events. They insisted that Mr Nygard has been committed to nation building.

However, in her contribution FNM Deputy leader Loretta Butler-Turner asked MPs to consider the perception created by the controversial “Nygard takes back the Bahamas” video, in which several PLP ministers are featured.