Warner slams Sports Minister for taking 172 free football tickets for PNM only

Chaguanas West MP Jack Warner on Wednesday slammed Sports Minister Gary Hunt, saying the minister requested 172 tickets "for parliamentarians" for Wednesday night's World Cup qualifier football match in Port of Spain, but did not include a single Opposition MP on the list.

Warner said former cabinet minister Dr Keith Rowley was also excluded from the list as was the mayor of Port of Spain.

Warner told the Trinidad Express that six weeks ago, Hunt met with him and officials of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation and asked for the free tickets.

"From the 24 seats he has had in the last 20 years for the minister's box, he allocated unto himself 172 seats," Warner said. He told the paper Hunt told the meeting the tickets would be for parliamentarians and ambassadors, among others.

"He told us not to invite them because they would do so through his invitations that he would issue parking stickers...My interpretation was that all parliamentarians, and I mean all because it is 172 seats he took, would be invited.

"But when I asked him for his invitation list, which I received at 4 p.m. yesterday (Tuesday), I saw not a single UNC parliamentarian or independent senator," the paper quoted Warner as saying.

Warner said he called Hunt and asked for an explanation. He said the minister then told him the tickets he requested were for "Government parliamentarians." Warner said he then asked why he wanted 172 tickets when the entire Parliament has only 72 members and a speaker.

He said Hunt replied that the other tickets would be for "permanent secretaries and so on."

Warner said he had to send an apology to Mrs Beverly Drayton, secretary to the Opposition Leader, along with invitations for all the UNC members of the House of Representatives and the Senate, with a letter of apology in each envelope.

He said he personally called the independent senators and apologized to them and send them invitations as well.

The Soca Warriors triumphed in the game Wednesday night at the Hasely Crawford Staduim, beating El Salvador 1-0.