On Tuesday, sacked Speaker of the Bayelsa State Assembly, Kombowei Benson stepped down from the House. His action was in obedience of the December 9 Court of Appeal ruling which declared his election null and void and ordered a rerun in the Constituency area of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area (LGA) of the State.
On Tuesday, sacked Speaker of the Bayelsa State Assembly, Kombowei Benson stepped down from the House. His action was in obedience of the December 9 Court of Appeal ruling which declared his election null and void and ordered a rerun in the Constituency area of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area (LGA) of the State.
The decision by the Speaker to step down was reached after a closed door meeting with Governor Dickson, the Attorney-General of the State, Kemesuode Wodu, and the legal team of Mr. Benson.
While the embattled Speaker continued his consultations with his legal team and other stakeholders to secure his plum position, pressure continued to mount among second term members for the need for a replacement and election of a more substantive speaker.
The Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on December 9, declared the election of Speaker Benson as null and void and ordered a fresh election in the Constituency 4 of the Southern Ijaw LGA of the State.
In the copy of the Court of Appeal ruling, made available to newsmen yesterday in Yenagoa and signed by Ejembi Eko, Justice Court of Appeal, the suit numbered CA/PH/EPT/421/2015 , filed by Ebifaghe P. Orunimighe and All Progressives Congress (APC) as Applicants, and, Mr. Benson, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as Respondents.
In the ruling of the Court of Appeal, which was based on the appeal filed by the APC candidate in the State House of Assembly election, Ebifieghe Orunimigha, against the ruling of the election petition tribunal, ordered that the election of Mr. Benson as the purported winner of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly seat for Southern Ijaw Constituency 4 elections held on April 11, 2015, was null and void.
The Court of Appeal presided over by Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba, Justice Ejembi Eko, and Justice Stephen Jonah Adam, ordered that,
"It is hereby ordered that fresh elections shall be conducted in all the wards of the constituency within 90 days from today except in the Olodiama Ward Four and the polling unit 20-30 in Foropa Ward 4.
"These results from Olodiama Ward 4 and polling unit 20-30 in Foropa War 4 shall upon the fresh elections in other Wards as ordered, thereafter be duly collated and final declaration/return made," the ruling read in part.