By Joseph Erunke

ABUJA—CONTRARY to reports that he has stepped down as Speaker of Bayelsa State House of Assembly following an alleged court judgment to that effect, Mr Konbowei Benson, has said that he remains the Speaker.

He described as “untrue and a lie of the highest order,” a claim that an Appeal Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, had on December 9, 2015, nullified his election into the state Assembly.

Addressing newsmen, yesterday, Benson insisted that he was not only still the Speaker of Bayelsa Assembly, but also the member representing Southern Ijaw Constituency 4.

Konbowei Benson

Benson, who noted that the said judgment was delivered in his favour, added that he had sufficient proofs to that effect.

The lawmaker stressed that contrary to interpretations from his political opponent, there was no enrolment order from the court asking him to vacate his seat.

He also said that there was no order that he should meet the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for a different date for election as being alleged by his political opponents.

He said, “INEC has not informed me of any notice of enrolment or whatever that they have also received. There is nothing.”
Benson described the alleged judgment against him as just a purported claim by a party with the intention to cause confusion.

“The falsehood being circulated in 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.

“What transpired in the open court was that the case was dismissed for lack of merit by the presiding Judge of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ejembi Eko represented by Justice Muhammed Garba.

“This judgment was delivered in the presence of several lawyers, including my lawyers, lawyers of INEC, that of the APC and several others who were in the court for other matters on December 9, 2015.

“Therefore, a judgment delivered in the open court could not have been given a counter judgment secretly and handed over only to the lawyers of the APC who are in possession of this purported judgment.”