Kennedy MP Kenyatta Gibson on Tuesday denied that he had resigned from his post as chairman of the Gaming Board as a result of the uproar created by an altercation he had more than a week ago with Mount Moriah MP Keod Smith.
Mr. Gibson issued a statement after the Tribune newspaper reported unconfirmed reports that he had resigned.
In his brief statement, the Kennedy MP said, “This is to advise that reports in todayﾒs Tribune under the Caption ‘Kenyatta Resigns,’ are completely untrue. I have not resigned as chairman of the Gaming Board for the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.”
On Monday, the Tribune also ran unconfirmed reports that said Prime Minister Perry Christie had invited both MPs to resign.
Since the fight in the Cabinet Office last week Monday, there have been many calls for the men to resign from their positions and also calls for the prime minister to fire them.
Mr. Smith is Chairman of the Bahamas Environment Science and Technology Commission (BEST) and also ambassador for the environment.
When they appeared as guests on the Love 97 programme “Jones and Company” on Sunday, both MPs denied that they had had a physical confrontation and said reports of their “spirited exchange” had been overblown.
They denied that any furniture had been broken, although Mr. Smith said he would be willing to pay for damaged furniture if anyone could prove that he broke it.
Mr. Gibson joined Mr. Smith in assuring that they were good friends and great political allies.
Still, demands for their resignation continued with the majority of callers into the Love 97 programme “Issues of the Day” on Monday calling for some kind of disciplinary action to be taken against them.
Not long after Mr. Gibson released his statement on Tuesday, Chief Executive Officer of the Gaming Board B.K. Bonamy said in an interview with The Bahama Journal that the alleged altercation has had no impact on the Gaming Board.
“The morale is very high, and the Gaming Board is not affected by any reports, as far as Iﾒm aware, of Mr. Kenyattaﾒs difficulties,” Mr. Bonamy said. “As far as Iﾒm aware, Mr. [Gibson] is still chairman of the Gaming Board.”
While on “Jones and Company” on Sunday, Mr. Gibson and Mr. Smith said they didnﾒt expect their recent problems to have any impact on their chances of winning at the polls in the next general election.
Reports of their fight come as both parties finalize candidates for the next general election.
Some PLP insiders told The Bahama Journal that itﾒs unlikely that Mr. Smith or Mr. Gibson would get the PLP nominations, but other observers closely connected to the party believe that the two still have a good chance of winning their seats again.
Since his interview with The Bahama Journal on the matter a week ago, Prime Minister Perry Christie has remained publicly silent amid calls for him to fire the MPs.
By: Perry Scavella, The Bahama Journal
