President Irfaan Ali has condemned what he described as the “racist remarks aimed at fueling terrorism in Guyana”, by WPA Executive Member, Tacuma Ogunseye, during a public meeting in Buxton on Thursday.

During the WPA meeting, Ogunseye spoke about the current plight of the poor in Guyana and Afro Guyanese under the current government, and also accused the PPP administration of using the joint services in the past to “execute Africans”.

But Ogunseye’s remarks about “turning the guns in the right direction”, has caught the attention of the President.

“Do we understand the implications of this statement?  I am very proud of the men and women in the joint services and I know they are sane people. I know they are right thinking people. Who will tolerate this? Which family will tolerate this?,” the President questioned.

The President, also chided Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton, for speaking at the same public meeting and failing to condemn the words of the WPA Executive.

“Every time the People’s Progressive Party Civic is in government we have to deal with these utterances. What did he mean by anytime we turn the guns in the right direction it is over? Your President will stand up every single day for what is right, would stand up in support of democracy, in support of unity and development. So all the guns, he is talking about let him turn it to me. Because no guns or bullets will stop us on this path of unifying our people,” the President said.

The President said the entire country should be concerned about the remarks and should condemn them in the strongest possible terms, noting that there is no place in Guyana for such utterances.

Oguneye has been bombarded by criticism since Thursday night after his statement.

A number of APNU Members including the Region 4 Chairman and the Mayor of Georgetown, have condemned the remarks by Ogunseye.

“We want to make it clear that we condemn and distance ourselves from any attack on any race in Guyana, including our African brothers and sisters. While we understand that the speaker may have made the comments out of hurt for what is happening in some Afro-Guyanese communities, we cannot allow such conduct to pass without being called out”, a statement from The Regional Chairman and Mayor along with two APNU MPs noted.

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