The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

The Nassau Guardian’s front page article about police investigators wanting a discussion with Free National Movement (FNM) MP Adrian Gibson is just one more development in an ongoing saga that hasn’t received as much attention from the mainstream media as one would think it should.

Instead, the Bahamian people have been fed, over the past several weeks, a steady diet of rumours of a possible prosecution and by-election in the Long Island constituency by an unprofessional Internet news source.

I was of the position that Gibson, in light of the disturbing allegations at the Water and Sewerage Corporation under the previous FNM administration, should not have offered himself as a candidate in the September 16 general election. I am not suggesting that Gibson is guilty. He deserves the benefit of the doubt like all other Bahamian citizens.

However, by virtue of his position as an FNM Parliamentarian, this entire WSC probe casts a shadow over the FNM, particularly as it seeks to rebrand itself.

I appreciate the herd mentality of the FNM in attempting to show a measure of solidarity with Mr Gibson.

However, every effort should’ve been made by the former FNM executive to protect the FNM torch, even to the extent of dropping popular candidates embroiled in controversy.

It looks like personal ambition took precedence over the entire organisation.

The WSC allegations showed to objective Bahamians a deeply flawed FNM government, the likes of which we were not accustomed to under former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham.

The WSC allegations were one of the many reasons I did not support the FNM in the last election.

Again, Mr Gibson is presumed innocent. The onus is on the state to prove its case.

I will take Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis at his word that this investigation isn’t a political witch hunt.

The members of the Royal Bahamas Police Force are professionals.

I believe Gibson will be treated fairly and will be given due process. I don’t view this as a tit-for-tat by the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP).

If Gibson was a normal person, would we be having this discussion about political witch hunts?

If this goes where I think it is heading, Gibson might be forced to resign from Parliament, which will then lead to a by-election in Long Island. I have a gut feeling that this might happen.

This is a potential political disaster for the FNM, as the PLP would then be in prime position to finally win a seat it hasn’t held since Philip Smith represented the island between 1977 and 1992.

The FNM has held Long Island since 1992, with the exception of the period between May 2002 and January 2006, before Independent MP Larry Cartwright officially joined the party.

A PLP win would increase its seat total to 33; while the FNM would be left with just six seats in the House of Assembly.

On the flip side of this saga is the potential to view a by-election in Long Island as a referendum on the governing PLP.

This is a gamble Davis has to factor into consideration.

If the PLP were to lose, Davis can simply chalk it up as an insignificant loss in an FNM bastion.

Either way, this has all the makings of a potentially disastrous situation for both Gibson and the FNM, particularly from a public relations standpoint.

Whatever becomes of this WSC probe, Bahamians must remember that these allegations originated under the previous FNM leadership. It would be unfair to point the finger at current FNM leader Michael Pintard.

KEVIN EVANS

Freeport,

Grand Bahama

May 19, 2022.