Vice President Hussain Mohamed Latheef has said that the former Vice President Dr. Mohamed Jameel Ahmed should not be trusted.
The current VP further said that the PPM/PNC leadership recently discovered Jameel's gross deception.
Meanwhile, former President Abdulla Yameen, after exiting PPM recently, is currently working on forming his new political party; People's National Front (PNF). Dr. Jameel leads the efforts, and currently represents Yameen both publicly and legally.
In an interview with Mihaaru News, the incumbent VP said that though the PPM/PNC coalition would always respect Yameen, it does not endorse the current course of the former president with Jameel in tow.
Hussain said Yameen is currently coerced by Dr. Jameel and others like him who harbors ill will against the former president.
"We will always respect Yameen's decision, but we believe the hands of others lie behind his recent decision. I do not believe it to be the best course of action for Yameen," Hussain, who had been among the closest allies of Yameen, added.
"The people leading these efforts, have abused their roles in matters of public interest previously as well."
Besides this, the VP placed several allegations against Dr. Jameel. According to Hussain, Jameel had presented several notes claiming it were from Yameen, in attempts to create discord and confusion within the coalition.
Hussain further claimed listening to an apparently controversial audio clip of Dr. Jameel which indicated the former VP's true intentions, further validating his ill intentions towards Yameen.
"[He] has lied severely. I say this with certainty and confidence that Dr. Jameel has lied, we have the evidence to back the claim. I personally heard his audio clip with denigrating comments against Yameen," the Vice President said.
"You could clearly understand just how much Dr. Jameel was vying for power. After listening to it, I realized the extent of his lack of sincerity."
Though he did not disclose the details of the audio clip, Hussain said that besides him two of PPM Vice Presidents Ahmed Shiyam, who is the current Minister of Fisheries, Mohamed Ghassan Maumoon, the current Minister of Defense, Mahibadhoo MP Ahmed Thoriq, and Male' City Council member Ibrahim Shujau heard it as well.
The Vice President further alleged that both Jameel and his nephew, the former minister Mohamed Maleeh Jamaal have a long history of anti-government campaigning, and added the two had unappealing political careers. Hussain also pointed out Jameel's anti-government efforts during Yameen's presidency.
"We have seen their countless efforts to overthrow any incumbent government. We are seeing the same colors from them even now. Yameen's governance until 2018 was strong, with several projects carried out during his term and the two [Jameel and Maleeh] who lead the efforts against him back then are now currently at the forefront," Hussain said.
"While he was abroad, he had even claimed Yameen should rot in jail for life."
Hussain noted that the parliament's no-confidence motion against Jameel was motivated in preserving Yameen's administration.
"After arriving in Muliaage [back then] Yameen had shown several notes and said he no longer confided in Jameel. After that, all of us moved forward together [to approve Jameel's no-confidence]," Hussain added.
Though Jameel attempted to contest the parliament's decision with an appeal to the Supreme Court, Yameen had advised the PPM members not to mount any efforts to intervene in his attempts.
"We were even ready to make a stand against [Jameel's appeal], but we refrained on Yameen's wishes," the Vice President explained.
The VP further said that while Jameel is now representing Yameen at his High Court appeal, the former VP's attempts to contest the parliament's decision to dismiss him, is a motivator for Jameel to impede any possibility of Yameen securing justice. Hussain further criticized Jameel's conduct as the legal representative of the former president, adding that the attorney had deliberately stalled proceedings.
"... it has not been even a week since we came to power, but they have already mounted efforts to create discord within the community. They do not wish well for President Yameen, while those who truly wish him well are in the PPM/PNC leadership, with President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu being an exemplary member," Hussain said.
According to the VP, Yameen had already discovered the sincerity of Dr. Muizzu from the internal investigations on the party to address allegations that the current President was attempting to upstage Yameen's presidential ticket through the coalition. Hussain said that President Muizzu had worked according to Yameen's instructions even back then.
"He [Muizzu] complied and attended every time he was summoned for questioning during the investigation against him. I saw all of these from up close. I even protested against attending the inquiries, since I did not condone the frequent summoning of a sincere party member for questioning like that," Hussain added.
VP also said President Muizzu was fully compliant in the party's internal investigation, and he prioritized loyalty to PPM's leader when he had dismissed all the individuals that were demanded to be removed from Male' City Council.
Hussain added that a similar investigation was carried out against him and Thoriq, but assured their integrity cannot be doubted.
"Yameen need not feel alone, we are with him. Dr. Muizzu is ready for him to work with us, but I don't believe Jameel has the same opportunity," the VP added.
Unlike President Dr. Muizzu, the former VP has not stayed true to his cause and changes his political narrative to fit his motivations regularly, according to Hussain. The VP further emphasized it was crucial not to give more opportunities to such duplicitous politicians to further corrode the political landscape.
"The youth especially need to acknowledge that the only way to establish peaceful governance is by isolating such individuals from politics, and by barricading the chances for them in political endeavors, and if they get such opportunities, it would weaken the nation considerably," Hussain noted.
"They have forsaken the public, and were the real conspirators who lead the country into this economical pit, while they are the true masterminds behind Yameen's current plight, so I cannot believe their trajectory would be promising."
The Vice President asserted his certainty on PPM/PNC coalition's leadership to work together, and assured the coalition would not upset its general members. He further assured commitment to fulfill the responsibilities bestowed on the current government by the public.
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