Opposition party, A Partnership for National Unity, (APNU), has announced that it intends to engage international partners and local stakeholders in a bid to have President Irfaan Ali come clean and resign over revelations of his mega-farm at Long-Creek on the Linden Soesdyke Highway.

The President has defended his farm, and has explained that it was built through hard work and a bank loan. However, the APNU said it is not buying the President’s story.

In addition to calling for a full and impartial investigation into “Farm Gate”, the Opposition party has it believes that the President should step down.

During a press conference on Friday, APNU Member of Parliament, Dr. Dexter Todd said the situation requires urgent attention.

“It’s a worrying situation that requires intervention immediately and that intervention I believe must very well be by the people because the people I believe must stand up against this and lead the fight,” Todd said.

He said the APNU has been exploring a number of ways to approach the issue, but noted that despite all of the justification, the exposing of the President’s farm shows signs of a major land scandal.

“We have immediately began to look at our international partners in relation to highlighting because the call for a sitting President to be removed or step aside is going to be a very strong call—which we are sure the PPP is going to ignore, so we are looking at where we are able to pull our allies, because this is a major land scandal,” Todd noted.

Opposition Member of Parliament, Sherod Duncan also weighed in on the issue noting that while a number of Guyanese are failing to secure land for Agricultural purposes, large swaths of lands are given to the President.

Duncan said although there have been many instances in the past where actions of the government have been called into question, it has never reached to the point where calls have been made for the President to step down. He said this issue has now made is necessitate that call.

“That response did not contain a shred of evidence, a shred of proof to push back against any of the allegations that were made. We don’t know who the financiers are—the bank, at what rate, he did not even admit to something basic to how the big the property is, what is that from a sitting head of state, a man who comports himself to be a global leader to be caught up in such a scandal,” Duncan stated.

On Thursday, the President said he sought no special treatment for his farming project. He also stated that there were no benefit or investment by the state for his land and farm.

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