Nigel Hughes breaks silence on property dispute; settlement reached

[www.inewsguyana.com] – Chairman of the  Alliance for Change (AFC) Nigel Hughes in what he called ‘setting the record straight’ has broken his silence on the  bitter land dispute he was allegedly involved in with the owner of Mae’s Secondary School, Mayfield French.

Court documents obtained by iNews had revealed that French sued Hughes on January 17, 2014 in relation to the property located at Lot 29 Subryanville, Kitty, Georgetown, upon which part of the school was built.

However, Hughes in a release on Wednesday, February 19 said the civil action brought by the purchaser has been settled. He admitted that on February 24, 2006 he sold the aforementioned property to the purchaser for the sum of $20M.

Hughes further explained that there was an express reference in the agreement to the existence of the mortgage under the heading “special condition”.

“It is useful to note that in the ex parte application to the court in the civil proceedings brought by the purchaser against me, no reference is made to the fact that the Purchaser was aware of the existence of the mortgage or that there was reference to it in the agreement of sale. It was conveniently omitted,” the statement noted.

Hughes claimed that the purchaser was clearly aware at the time of the purchase of the property that there was an existing mortgage which was recorded on the transport.

“The most important fact that seems to have escaped the PPP and their propaganda machinery  is that at the time of the signing of the agreement a  deposit of $ 4 million was paid and the outstanding balance of $16 million was in excess of the sum due owing on the mortgage. An additional $ 8 million was paid when she took possession of the property in 2006, leaving a balance owed of $8 million,” Hughes added.

The governing People’s Progressive Party (PPP) had called for the resignation of Hughes. In a statement issued to the press onFebruary 9, the PPP said, “These allegations must not be taken lightly, and are to say the least, troubling and worrying to the public at large. The PPP is also appalled by the deafening silence of the Executive of the Alliance for Change on the continuous reports that its Chairman is involved in various forms of fraudulent activities, misconduct and improprieties.”