The Tobago House of Assembly will hold a special sitting this morning to elect a new Deputy Chief Secretary.

It follows PDP leader Watson Duke’s resignation from the post last Thursday, which came after tension and in-fighting between Duke and THA Chief Secretary Farley Augustine.

Read the full statement from the THA below: 

The Office of the Chief Secretary (OCS) wishes to advise the public that Assemblyman Watson Solomon Duke tendered his resignation as Deputy Chief Secretary to the people of Tobago, on September 15, 2022. Mr. Duke subsequently intimated same in writing to Chief Secretary, the Honourable Farley Chavez Augustine.

The OCS advises the public that the Executive Council acknowledges the resignation of Mr. Duke and his resignation letter was forwarded to the Offices of the President and the Presiding Officer for appropriate action.

The Office of the Chief Secretary and by extension the Tobago House of Assembly wishes to publicly thank Mr. Watson Solomon Duke for his service over the past nine (9) months.

As a consequence of these recent developments, a special sitting of the House is carded for Monday 19, September 2022 at 10:30 am to have a new Deputy Chief Secretary elected, in accordance with Act 40 of 1996 Section 8, which says inter alia “…the Assemblymen shall elect from among their number, the Chief Secretary and the Deputy Chief Secretary in accordance with section 11 and following such election, the President shall administer to the Chief Secretary and the Deputy Chief Secretary respectively, the oath of office set out in the Third Schedule.”

The Office of the Chief Secretary and by extension the Tobago House of Assembly remains committed to ensuring effective governance for the people of Tobago.