Former national footballer David Nahkid has been sworn in as a Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs, and Attorney Darrell Allahar joins the government as a Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister.
The two Senators took their oaths of office during a brief ceremony at the President’s House on Thursday afternoon.
Mr. Nakhid was a Senator during the 12th Republican Parliament. The former national footballer said he intends to use this opportunity to transform sport within our communities.
“I think it’s going to be based on a model that we have not had before in Trinidad and Tobago. We’ve seen sport merely as a hobby and a by-issue; it’s going to be front and centre in how we transform, especially the East-West Corridor and the underserved communities in the rural areas, and I intend this opportunity. I intend to bring sexy back 100%.”
He is also hoping to revive all sporting disciplines at the national level.
“We haven’t got fair value. I mean, Trinidad and Tobago is not anymore the nucleus of Caribbean cricket, and we need to look at that arrangement and deal with it immediately, as well as other parts of sports. I’m not happy with how football is in Trinidad, how Trinbagonians are perceived.”
Mr. Allahar said he was pleasantly surprised when he got the call and is eager to serve in any capacity. The Chairman of the UNC’s Internal Election Management Committee in 2024 raised concerns about the election process days before the April 28th General Election.
“It is another personal hope and desire that our system of elections, which is very old, archaic, hard to understand and prone to corruption. That system of elections may be reviewed, and that is something that, personally, I feel very strong about.”
He also shared some of his personal thoughts on the current state of T&T’s justice system.
“As an attorney and I can only speak as an attorney, I think all conscientious attorneys would wish that our civil justice system and our criminal justice system works to its optimum and that we have, we continue to have a tradition of open justice.”
These two appointments bring the number of Government Senators to 13.
The Parliament has 31 Senate seats in total: 16 on the government bench, six on the Opposition bench, and nine Independents appointed at the discretion of the President.