Orunimighe queries Benson’s cling to Bayelsa Speaker’s seat

AS controversies continue to trail the purported annulment of the election of the Bayelsa House of Assembly Speaker, Kobenwei Benson, by the Court of Appeal, the candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC, in the April 2015, House of Assembly poll, Mr. Ebifaghe Orunimighe, has asked the Speaker, to respect the judgment of the court and vacate the office.

The Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, had on December 9, 2015 nullified the April 2015 election that returned Benson and ordered a fresh election within 90 days from the date of the judgment.

However, the speaker while speaking with journalists in Abuja and the state-owned radio station denied any knowledge of such court verdict, insisting he remains the speaker, even though he was refered to as an ex-Speaker in Government House function in Yenagoa penultimate week.

Orunimighe, who contested the Southern Ijaw Constituency 4 seat with the Speaker, warned Benson to stop parading himself as Speaker or risk going to prison.

At a press conference at the APC Secretariat in Yenagoa, yesterday, and entitled, ‘Contemptuous conduct of Kombowei Benson – former Speaker’, Orunimighe disclosed that his lawyers had begun a contempt process against Benson.

He said: “Our attention has been drawn to recent reports credited to Kombowei Benson where he unequivocally stated that he still remained the Speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly because the judgment declared by the Court of Appeal in open court on December 9, 2015 affirmed his victory.

“Ordinarily, we should not have reacted to such fallacious publications, but our reticence may mislead many from discerning between reality and fiction. Un-discerning

“It is based on this realisation that we are indeed compelled to react. It is unfortunate that Kombowei Benson is accentuated by greed and desperation to disseminate such deliberate falsehood to mislead members of the society including his pastors and church members.

“For the avoidance of doubt, let it be established right away that the unanimous judgment of the Court of Appeal delivered by Justice Ejembi Eko, JCA on December 9, 2015 declared the election of Benson as the purported winner of the House of Assembly seat for southern Ijaw Constituency 4, held on the 11th April, 2015 as null and void.

He stated that in utter defiance to the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Benson presided over the 2016 budget presented on the floor of the House by Governor Seriake Dickson on January 15, 2016.

Orunimighe added, “It is worrisome that the conduct of Benson borders on contempt of court and wanton disregard for the rule of Law.

“As you are aware, the illegality perpetrated by the ex-Speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly and members of the PDP-led Government is an absolute display of lawlessness reminiscence of the Hobbesian state of nature.”

He, therefore, urged the members of the public to disregard the innuendoes of Benson, advising the embattled Speaker to stop engaging in acts that are tantamount to disobeying the lawful and valid judgment of the Court of Appeal.

But Benson had last Thursday at a press conference in Abuja, refuted reports that he stepped down as the Speaker following a court judgment.
Benson had described as “untrue and lies in the highest order” the report that the Appeal Court in Port Harcourt nullified his election in the state Assembly.

The Speaker had said he had sufficient proofs that the judgment for that day was delivered in his favour.
He had argued that there was no enrolment order from the court asking him to vacate his seat, adding that “INEC has not informed me of any notice of enrolment or whatever they have received, there is nothing.

“The falsehood being circulated in both the social, electronic and print media by members of the APC should be disregarded as it represents the desperate ambition and interest of only the peddlers of this falsehood.