VP Jagdeo tries to compare 75 acres of jungle lands Nigel Hughes wants to acquire  with 35 acres of prime city lands sold to Ed Ahmad and others

Feb 07, 2025 News

---

…misleads nation that the AFC leader had acquired the lands

Kaieteur News- In a desperate bid to defend the People’s Progressive Party government’s sale of over 35 acres of prime land to convicted fraudster Edul ‘Ed’ Ahmad, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday sought to highlight a bid by Attorney, Nigel Hughes to lease and purchase 75 acres of undeveloped state lands in the Essequibo jungle.

At his press conference, Jagdeo stated, “Imagine two days ago, he [Hughes] said we must pause, a legitimate government not a government in caretaker mode must pause on giving lands, and he secured for himself 75 acres of land after the CCJ [Caribbean Court of Justice] had ruled and after the elections.”

However, a review of the documents presented by Jagdeo during the press conference shows that Hughes was granted approval for leased lands intended for agricultural purposes. Two Provisional Lease documents, both dated March 19, 2020, indicate that Hughes received a total of 50 acres of State land situated on the left bank of the Essequibo River, below the mouth of the Groete Creek. Both documents state that the land was approved for agricultural purposes at an annual rent of $800 per acre.

 

Notably, at the bottom of the documents, it is stated, “This lease shall not sublet or give permission to anyone to occupy the land or part thereof.”

A third document, a letter dated October 24, 2019, shows that Hughes, along with one Ms. Noreen Gaskin, received approval for an additional 25 acres of land at the left bank of the Essequibo River, below the mouth of the Groete Creek. These lands were allocated through the Guyana Lands & Surveys Commission (GLSC).

 

Under the laws of Guyana, a lease can be obtained for the cultivation on a large scale of rubber, limes or other citrus fruit, cacao, coffee, fibres, coconuts, and other permanent agricultural products, under the State Lands Act.

 

In his response to Vice President, Hughes in a Facebook post explained the status of his leased lands and alleged that the PPP government has denied granting him a final lease.

Hughes explained, “In relation to 50 acres of heavily forested  land on the left bank of the Essequibo at Groete Creek, in January 2016, I purchased 50 acres of land from Simon Munroe for the sum of 2 million dollars.”

He disclosed that in order for the land to be transferred to him, he was required to make an application to the Guyana Lands and Survey Commission (GLSC) which was done and other obligations like conducting a survey. However, he stated that since the provisional lease was granted back in March 2020, the government has frustrated the process to grant a final lease. “Since the grant of the provisional lease in 2020 March, the GLSC has perisistently refused to issue a final lease. This has prevented and frustrated all attempts to transfer the property.”

According to Hughes, GLSC refused to accept his payment of rent. In addition to that he noted that despite sending four letters of request to GLSC Commisioner for the issuance of the lease, he has not even received an acknowledgment to his letter.

“He has persistently refused to even acknowledge my letters. As a consequence, all investment plans for the project have been intentionally frustrated,” Hughes stated.

Hughes claimed that be believes that only “the friends, family and the favoured” of the government are allowed to go forward and see their investments mature.

Addressing the latter 25 acres of land, Hughes said that this too suffered the same fate, with frustration from GLSC to grant the final lease.

To this end, he said, “I welcome and urge a full investigation of this acquisition and the reason why it has been frustrated.”

Jagdeo speaking at his weekly press conference yesterday sought to defend lands sold to Ahmad, a convicted fraudster and his alleged close affiliation with Sherwyn Greaves who abruptly resigned from his post as Chief Executive Officer of the Central Housing and Planning Authority over the scandal surrounding the sale of lands here.  This publication previously reported that Ahmad was given 12.5 acres of land in Lethem for the cultivation of soya bean, another 30 acres of prime lands at Ogle on the East Coast of Demerara for real estate purposes, six acres of land at Diamond on the East Bank of Demerara, another five acres of prime lands on the Heroes Highway near Mocha Arcadia, and 17 acres at Leonora, West Coast Demerara.

Regarding the lands given to Ahmad at Ogle, the Vice President defended the government’s decision. He used land allocation by the previous APNU+AFC government as grounds to defend the government’s decision to sell prime lands to Ahmad and others for $30 million per acre. Jagdeo said, “Imagine all the lands that we’ve given out so far for private development, not a single person has received title in these areas for housing development, not a single one, including Ed Ahmad. They all paid $30 million per acre, the same price that they were selling the land at…”  He continued, “They had to pay the 30 million, there is nothing wrong, nothing corrupt about it, same price they are paying. Nigel Hughes questioning that price.”

For his part, Hughes called for an investigation into all lands sold and acquired at Ogle.

He stated, “I invite the VP to name the companies I have any equity in. While he is at it, he should cause a similar investigation into the allocations of land along the Heroes Highway where the beneficiaries transferred property to the CEO in New York.”

(VP Jagdeo tries to compare 75 acres of jungle lands Nigel Hughes wants to acquire  with 35 acres of prime city lands sold to Ed Ahmad and others)

---

• Bharrat Jagdeo, Ed Ahmad, land, Nigel Hughes

---