By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

WEST End and Bimini MP Obie Wilchcombe said he has no plans to contest the deputy leader’s post at the Progressive Liberal Party’s November convention, saying he “remains on task” with returning the PLP’s current leadership team to their posts this November.

Mr Wilchcombe, who described himself as the “consummate team member,” told The Tribune that his plan heading into the convention was to help the party improve its footing ahead of the 2017 general election.

“There is no indication that (Deputy Prime Minister Philip Davis) is going anywhere at the moment, and because there is no indication, there is no reason to plan,” Mr Wilchcombe told The Tribune.

“At the moment we are thinking Perry Christie and Philip ‘Brave’ Davis will take us into the next election and we are prepared to work with that team.

“We want to serve the Bahamian people as an organised, unified body and not a group that is snipping at each other and fighting with each other, because self-interest could be destructive,” he said. “We are more interested in the Bahamian people and the Bahamian people want to have a unified organisation.”

He added: “I am surprised to hear that there is speculation because we have made it clear that the leader and deputy leader are in place and the deputy hasn’t indicated that he is going anywhere.

“And so we are going to stand with the leader and deputy at this time and we are going to take them into the convention, we are going to make sure that they win.

“So we are going to stick with the two that we have, go into the general election and again show this country a unified party; a party that understands its constitution, that understands its philosophy.

“The Progressive Liberal Party is preparing for the next general election now, that is our focus. Our focus is to organise ourselves and get us ready to, first and foremost respond to the Bahamian people on the issues that have come up in the past five years. Did we meet our promises of the things that we were going to do prior to the general election, where we brought the country from 2012 to now, that is what we are focusing on.”

Some have speculated that in a move to strengthen Mr Christie’s leadership bid, campaign organisers were considering a promotion to deputy leader for either Mr Wilchcombe or Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald.

PLP sources have suggested that Mr Wilchcombe holds sway over a large percentage of the party’s stalwart councillors and is viewed as a potential prime minister.

Mr Wilchcombe contested the deputy leader post in 2009, but lost to Mr Davis.

He has said he has ambitions to become prime minister, but would never challenge Mr Christie for the position.

So far, only Alfred Sears, the PLP’s candidate for Fort Charlotte and a former attorney general, has announced plans to contest the PLP’s top post.

The PLP’s convention is scheduled for the last week in November at the Melia Nassau Beach Resort.