The Speaker, Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Mr. Kombowei Benson, has come under attacks by members of the Assembly over statement credited to the Speaker against President Goodluck Jonathan.
The Bayelsa legislators were said to have been unhappy with the Speaker for making what they described as “degrading and inciting” comments against the President in an interview published in a local bnewspaper.
The aggrieved lawmakers were said to have held meetings in Yenagoa where they condemned the Speaker’s tirade against Jonathan.
Our correspondent learnt that the lawmakers were agitated that Benson’s statements suggested that President Jonathan was plotting to impose candidates on members of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state during the party’s primaries.
They reportedly dissociated themselves from the comments, saying, “the Speaker is on his own”.
It was learnt that the angry lawmakers further expressed displeasure with the Speaker’s verbal tirade against the senator representing the Bayelsa Central Senatorial District, Mr. Emmanuel Paulker.
One of the lawmakers, who attended the meeting, said the Speaker erred “by joining voices with persons who were bent on bringing down Mr. President.”
The lawmaker, who did not want his name mentioned because of the sensitivity of the issue, said as a speaker of the House in Jonathan’s state, Benson was expected to galvanise support for the President.
The lawmaker said, “We are not happy with the disposition of the speaker and we have resolved in our meetings that he should retract every statement he made against Mr. President.
“President Jonathan has full support of all the constituencies in the state, including the constituency of the speaker. Jonathan was once a deputy governor and a governor in this state, so he has large following.
“The evidence of this following was recently demonstrated in the state when his wife, Patience, visited Yenagoa.”
He said the attack on the President by Benson was unwarranted since Jonathan had not endorsed any candidate in the state.
When contacted, the Media Assistant to the Speaker, Mr. Piriye Kiyaramo, said he was not aware of such moves against his boss by the lawmakers.
“I am not aware that some lawmakers are rising against my boss. The development is surprising,” he said.
The Chairman, House Committee on Information, Mr. Iniobiyo Obiene, said the Speaker spoke for himself and not on behalf of the House.
He said, “On that very issue, it was not the lawmakers, neither was it the House that made the statement. So, whatever statement that Mr. Speaker had made, he made the statement personally and not on behalf of the House.
“Bayelsa State is not made up of only one constituency or one senatorial district. It cuts across the entire state. So, the statement he made was in respect of either his constituency or his senatorial district.”
Our correspondent learnt however that the Speaker had been summoned to Abuja over the comment.
He was said to have gone with Governor Seriake Dickson to beg the President.
In a statement released by Kiyaramo after the Speaker’s return from Abuja, the Speaker was quoted as saying “Jonathan is a statesman and one of the best Presidents Nigeria has ever had.”
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