PDP leader Watson Duke has extended an olive branch to Chief Secretary Farley Augustine, offering to put aside differences for the betterment of Tobago.

It comes close to a year after a public spat between both men culminated with a mass exodus from the PDP, with Chief Secretary Farley Augustine and the full THA Executive moving on to form their own political party.

With a general election due in two years, Mr. Duke says he believes they are stronger together to come up against the PNM.

“There is a pool of thought held by a few troubled people that ‘Watson doesn’t want peace, Watson is looking for a fight’. That is not the truth. I want to silence that and I want to see a way forward, which is to write a letter as I did to Farley for us to reconcile our differences—put it aside and put Tobago first,” Duke said at a media conference on Monday. 

“In light of the recent development, I am ready to forgive past misunderstandings and overlook certain actions. Yet, what remains unforgivable is the loss of an exceptional opportunity and a chance to set aside our differences and join forces for the good of Tobago,” Duke said.

The fallout between both men began in September 2022, following a public dispute over funds for a Tobago cultural group then on tour in New York. It saw Duke resigning as deputy THA Chief Secretary, which then triggered the Chief Secretary and the entire THA executive to resign from the PDP and subsequently establish the Tobago People’s Party recently.