The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

ST ANNE’S MP Hubert Chipman announced yesterday that he has withdrawn his name from consideration for renomination in his constituency, saying it is clear FNM Leader Dr Hubert Minnis no longer wants his contribution.

While stressing that he has had “differences” with Dr Minnis in the past, he said political parties committed to democracy routinely have such debates. However, under Dr Minnis’ leadership, these types of disagreements are met with animosity.

He also criticised Dr Minnis for not pushing the government hard enough on several issues, including the work of the Public

Accounts Committee (PAC), of which the St Anne’s MP is the chairman.

His statement comes as well-placed sources in the party confirm to The Tribune that the FNM will nominate talk show host Jeffrey Lloyd in the St Anne’s constituency.

Dr Minnis did not confirm this yesterday, however, saying: “I don’t know who is going to run. We have over 150 different applicants.”

Mr Chipman said in his statement yesterday that although he sought a re-nomination in St Anne’s, he felt he was being disrespected by Dr Minnis.

The Tribune understands that a meeting with Mr Chipman was scheduled for Monday with party executives when he was going to be asked not to run again.

“I maintained a constituency office from February 2012 to date and was available to meet with constituents at any time,” he said in his statement.

“In particular, regular office hours were held from 4 to 7pm every Thursday. Because of the good work we did together, the Constituency Association expressed their confidence in me by writing to FNM Leader Dr Hubert Minnis and the Candidates Committee on September 5, 2015. The letter was signed by all of the executives of the association. That was over a year ago.

“The association’s letter was never acknowledged. During the first week of March of this year, the executive of my association and myself met. We then met with the leader and the then Chairman Michael Pintard during the first week of March 2016. My candidacy was discussed at length.

“We were assured that I would be renominated. The association again wrote to the leader on September 21, 2016 referring to its earlier letter and our meeting. To date we have heard nothing, which I consider a tremendous sign of disrespect toward the association.”

Under Dr Minnis’ leadership, Mr Chipman said, disagreements were “far too often met with resentment.”

“I remained loyal to the party and continued to work to improve the FNM for the benefit of the Bahamian people,” his statement said. “But sadly, the FNM that I have supported all of my life has become an organisation that I barely recognize. It was my privilege to serve St Anne’s and the Bahamian people in the House of Assembly.”

Mr Chipman, who has been criticised for the meagre work the PAC has done under his leadership, also said Dr Minnis did not fully cooperate with him as he failed to push “the government harder on a number of key issues, including the work of the Public Accounts Committee.”

Mr Chipman’s withdrawal means Long Island MP Loretta Butler-Turner, one of the most vocal critics of Dr Minnis from within the party, is now the only “gang of six” members of Parliament who has been renominated by the FNM for the 2017 general election.

The other parliamentarians, who either supported Mrs Butler-Turner or were critical of Dr Minnis’ leadership – including Neko Grant, Theo Neilly, Richard Lightbourn, and now Mr Chipman – have all either withdrawn from consideration for a nomination or have been denied one outright.

Dr Andre Rollins, also a part of the group, has previously said he would not offer himself for a nomination if Dr Minnis remains party leader. He has since said he would consider accepting such an offer if one were made by Dr Minnis, however the Killarney MP has been quiet on this proposal.

Dr Minnis did not respond directly to a question yesterday about whether Mr Chipman’s support for Mrs Butler-Turner in the FNM’s July leadership race contributed to the party’s decision to deny him a nomination.

Instead, he mischaracterised Mr Chipman’s reason for withdrawing from front-line politics, saying: “I think (Mr Chipman) realises that there’s a bigger, global picture to deal with and the bigger picture is not any one constituency in isolation but all 38 and the additional five or six that (the government) may bring forth.”

Yesterday, Mr Chipman also said he became involved with the FNM 45 years ago out of concern with the “cult of personality and one-man rule the country was headed in under the PLP.”

Before the 2012 election he was asked to run in the St Anne’s constituency by former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham and former Deputy Prime Minister Brent Symonette, who at the time was the MP for St Anne’s.

“He has a wealth of knowledge and has been assisting all through,” Dr Minnis said about Mr Chipman yesterday. “At this time, the PLP is doing serious damage to this country. They’re the worst government this country has ever seen and the member for Parliament feels that with this level of contribution it’s time to step at the national level to do whatever is necessary in our national campaign to get rid of this worthless government. And I would like to thank publicly the MP for St Anne’s for the contribution he has made to our party.”