Prime Minister Perry Christie on Wednesday vehemently denied media claims that he instructed Ministry of Works Parliamentary Secretary Renward Wells to sign a letter of intent (LOI) to build a $650 million waste-to-energy plant at the New Providence landfill and revealed that he is seeking legal action against a local daily in the face of such claims.

In a brief statement on the issue, Mr. Christie categorically denied the claim, charging that it is “absolutely false.”

“I said or did no such thing,” the prime minister said.

Democratic National Alliance (DNA) Leader Branville McCartney reportedly threw out the accusation during a press conference at his Halsbury Chambers law firm on Tuesday.

At the time, Mr. McCartney asserted that Mr. Christie’s involvement in the matter is the reason he has not fired Mr. Wells or even pressured him to resign. The DNA leader reportedly has “reliable” sources on the matter.

“I regard this as a most serious and malicious defamation of my character and I have therefore instructed my attorneys to take such steps as they may deem appropriate against the persons responsible for the publication of the defamatory statements in question,” Mr. Christie charged in a brief statement.

In an even shorter release emailed moments later, the beleaguered parliamentary secretary too denied Mr. McCartney’s claims.

“I categorically deny that I ever told anyone in the media or anyone at all that I had been asked by the prime minister to sign the said LOI,” he said.

“The prime minister never asked me to sign the said LOI.

Messrs. Christie and Wells comments on the thorny issue followed renewed calls from the Free National Movement (FNM) for the latter to be fired.

The FNM is demanding as much after discovering that the LOI is reportedly far more serious that previously thought.

“Mr. Wells has not just interfered with the portfolio responsibility of another government ministry, he has gone much further and has signed a document which binds the Bahamas Government itself and makes the government liable to pay some amount of contingent compensation to a foreign investor if the government should fail to approve the execution of the Power Purchase Agreement by BEC,” said FNM Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis.

“…On behalf of the Bahamian people, the FNM demands a formal statement from the attorney general on the issue of whether the letter of intent signed by Wells creates a substantial contingent liability for the government. The FNM demands that the government must honour, abide by and implement fully the sacred conventions that bind every Cabinet minister and parliamentary secretary and in the process we pray that the prime minister will find the courage to terminate Wells for creating this financial nightmare for the Bahamian people.”