Dear Editor,
Nothing in the world is worse than when someone engages in conduct unbecoming of the lofty standards he has set himself. Worst still, and in tandem, is when the same person, who has spent years carefully cultivating an image of an above-the-board do-gooder, is unveiled. Nigel Hughes, of course, immediately comes to mind.
For years, he appeared to be walking on air. Many saw him as the reverential darling of the cosmopolitan elite. Oh, the gait, the swagger, and the relentless browbeating of the PPPC by this man, who has now tied himself in so many knots that even the magic of escape artist Harry Houdini couldn’t help him.
You see, Mr. Hughes is basically a kind of oil and gas man. He is a Managing Partner of Hughes, Fields, and Stoby, a law firm that does work for ExxonMobil, the flagship company in Guyana’s oil and gas industry. Nothing is wrong with that, but the same Hughes, who regularly wails about conflict of interest, is telling the nation that he “…will not break ties from his law firm…unless he is elected to Government” (Dem. Waves 6/30/2024).
Incidentally, this translates into the proposition that only if he becomes president will he consider separation from the firm.
Nigel Hughes has refused to unequivocally state his intention to separate the national interest from his self-interest. Because of this, he has failed the first and most important test in public service. This relates to the issue of political integrity.
Mr. Hughes needs to either submit his resignation to Hughes, Fields and Stoby, or rescind his leadership of the AFC. The time to do so is now.
Regards,
Erin Northe
