The embattled Speaker of
the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Konbowei Benson, says he is still in charge of the State House of Assembly claiming that the Court of Appeal judgment of 9 December 2015 dismissed the appeal of his opponent Ebifeghe Orunimighe of the All Progressives Congress (APC) over the Southern Ijaw Constituency 4 seat in the Assembly.
Benson stated this at the Conference Hall of the Assembly Complex,Yenagoa, while briefing Assembly Correspondents on the raging controversy over who, between him and Orunimighe was favoured by the appellate court’s ruling on the matter.
It was the second time in one week that Benson would be addressing reporters on the judgment as he had first done so on Thursday January 21 in 2016 at Abuja where he vehemently refuted reports that he stepped down as the Speaker following the ruling of the Appeal Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Benson had described as “untrue and lies of the highest order” the report that the Appeal Court nullified his election in April 2015 to the state Assembly.
At the briefing in Yenagoa, the state capital, he insisted that he remained the Speaker until anything to the contrary was proven beyond reasonable doubt.
“I stand by the judgment of 9 December 2015 dismissing the appeal of my opponent.
“And until otherwise proven beyond reasonable doubt, I remain the Speaker and would preside and rule over the affairs of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly”, he said.
Although he did not display a copy of the court judgment dismissing Oruinimghe’s appeal at the briefing, Benson claimed to have in his possession a certified true copy of the ruling.
“What transpired in the open court on the 9th of December 2015 in the presence of lawyers both of the APC, my lawyers and others lawyers who were in court for other purposes was outright dismissal of the appeal brought by my opponent, Mr. EPO Orunimieghe.
“The judgement was delivered in the open court, I emphasise, the judgement was delivered in the open court by Justice Ejembi Eko, JCA who was represented by Justice ML Garba, JCA.
“Thereby upholding my election in the state House Assembly representing Southern Ijaw 4”, Benson said.
He said he had been to the Appeal Court for a record five times and he had yet to see or hear that the appellate court could deliver two different judgments on the same case.
