Former EPA Director to sue Teixeira over misleading statements at U.N. hearing

Apr 03, 2024 Court Stories, ExxonMobil, Features / Columnists, News, Oil & Gas

Former EPA Director, Dr. Vincent Adams and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira

Kaieteur News – Attorney-at-Law, Khemraj Ramjattan has said that the former Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Dr. Vincent Adams will be proceeding with legal action against Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira.

The Minister while appearing before the United Nations Human Rights Commission on March 19, 2024 told Commissioners that Dr. Adams was involved in signing the lopsided oil contract with American oil giant, ExxonMobil.

She was responding at the time to questions on the competence of the existing Executive Director, Kemraj Parsram compared to Dr. Adams when she told the body, “The issue of the former Director, he oversaw, he was part of the secret Production Sharing Agreement of 2016 and nobody knew about it… (and) the signature bonus.”

Hours after the Minister’s remarks, the former EPA Head issued a letter to the UN Human Rights Commission where he dispelled Teixeira’s comments.

Subsequently, Dr. Adams demanded an apology from the Minister and compensation for demotion. In a letter addressed to the government official, dated March 22, 2024, Attorney-at-Law, Khemraj Ramjattan explained that he was retained by Dr. Adams to communicate the notice of intention to file legal action for defamation.

Teixeira in an invited comment told this newspaper on Tuesday that she never received such a lawyer’s letter from the former Head of the Environmental Protection Agency. She explained, “As of yesterday, I am not aware that I received a lawyer’s letter with reference to Dr. Adams.” The Minister was keen to note, “I don’t address letters supposedly addressed to me that are published in the media and I haven’t received as yet.”

Meanwhile, Ramjattan in response told Kaieteur News that the lawsuit will proceed as he is in the position of evidence that the Minister’s Secretary received the document. According to Ramjattan, “My libel action does not depend on her receiving the letter in any event but I just wanted to give her a way out and she knows that the letter was sent to her. She is very well aware of the letter.”

Dr. Adams in his letter to the UN body had detailed the embarrassment caused to him by the Minister’s misleading comments.

He explained, “It would have been a very serious violation of the US laws, national security, and my oath of office to be working for another Government…not only is this Minister’s accusation false and disrespectful to the Committee, but it also puts me at risk of being branded as conducting illegal and unpatriotic acts against the USA.”

He was keen to point out that he retired from the US Government on December 31, 2016, and did not take up employment as Head of the EPA until October 1, 2018, some years and 3 months after the PSA was signed. Dr. Adams told the UN Human Rights Commission that he was one of the first to publicly criticize the PSA and continued to do so, even while serving as Director of the Agency.

Moreover, he explained, “The EPA has absolutely nothing to do with the crafting and/or managing the PSA, for that would be an obvious conflict of interest. It was crafted, and is managed by the Ministry of Natural Resources.”

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defamation, Dr. Adams, lawsuit, libel, lied, UN

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