As election campaigns heat up, Labour Minister Melvin ‘Mitch’ Turnbull has levelled accusations at Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley of taking directions from disgraced former premier, Andrew Fahie.
According to the damning indictment released after his arrest in April last year,
Fahie used the alias ‘Head Coach’ to disguise his interactions with his alleged co-conspirators — former Ports Authority Director, Oleanvine Maynard, and her son Kadeem ‘Blacka’ Maynard — as they made plans to secretly shepherd illegal drugs through the territory’s ports and pocket the proceeds.
Turnbull, the Second District Representative for the Progressive Virgin Islands Movement (PVIM), alleged that Dr Wheatley consulted with
Fahie at
the Virgin Islands Party (VIP) congress in selecting the VIP’s District 2 candidate, Marieta Flax-Headley.
According to Turnbull, Flax-Headley is dear and near to his heart and the two share a mother-son relationship. However, this did not prevent him from making the claim that his VIP opponent in the Second District was being unduly influenced by the territory’s embattled former premier who is the VIP’s former Chairman.
“Head Coach (
Fahie) make a call in the congress and tell [Headley] [she] must run,” Turnbull alleged during the PVIM’s weekend candidate launch.
Turnbull questioned whether it was true that
Fahie was still running the country behind the scenes and interfering with the territory’s affairs even as he awaited trial while on house arrest in Florida. “You letting a man who fighting for his life still lead you, and you’re telling me you’re a leader?” Turnbull asked.
“We must, we have to, and we got to put [the VIP] out,” Turnbull chanted. “It is no way that you’re talking about this country that has been embarrassed on the world stage.”
Turnbull urged voters to replace the scandal-plagued VIP with his PVIM where its leader, Ronnie Skelton, has never been arrested, accused, or faced a criminal charge. He added that Skelton has also never been involved in any court case that deals with mismanagement.