Blood Bath Imminent At Delta Assembly As House Reconvenes

Following the refusal to swear in the member elect, Mr.Kingsley Nonye Phillips representing Ika South constituency at the Delta state House of Assembly, a bloody clash between Mr. Phillips and the sacked speaker of the House, Mr.Martins Okonta is certained as the House reconvenes Tomorrow, Tuesday 15th June, 2010 session.

The House had gone on three weeks recess after its inability to swear in the member elect, Mr. Philips following an Abuja Court of Appeal Judgment declaring him (Philips) as the lawful candidate and duly member elect in the 2007 general elections against the former sacked speaker, Mr. Okonta who INEC initially declared the winner.

Investigations by ukpakareports.com revealed that should the clerk refused to swear in the member elect as directed by the court and the embattled speaker Mr. Okonta returned to the Ika South constituency seat as threatened, an unprecedented bloody fracas may break out at the Assembly complex between the supporters of both contenders.

Sources closed to the embattled sacked speaker also revealed that Mr. Okonta who has vowed to reclaim back his former Ika South constituency seat as well as the speaker's seat against the court judgment will be at the Assembly session comes next week Tuesday.

It was also learnt that the sacked speaker who is said to be battle ready have allegedly engaged the services of some thugs to unleash terror on anyone that may stand on his way in a bid to reclaim his former position in the House.

It would be recalled that last week during a press briefing at the state House of Assembly complex, Mr. Efe Akpofure, SAN, counsel to the sacked Speaker, Okonta and Clerk of the House, Mr. Yavbieri had insisted that Mr. Okonta remains the speaker of the house adding that the Clerk has no Constitutional right to swear in the member-elect, Mr. Philips into the House and have to stay action, till the suit filed by the embattled sacked Speaker is disposed of.

According to Mr. Akpofure (SAN) his clients had filed a motion at the Appellant Court to allow the status quo in the House to remain. “Until the motion is disposed of Hon. Okonta remains the Speaker of the Assembly it is only the Speaker and not the Clerk of the House that can swear in a member of the House in accordance with constitutional provision”.

But in a swift reaction, Mr. Philips vehemently countered Akpofure's statement as according to him, Mr. Akpofure is only a lawyer but not a Court of Law and is merely "working for the N4 million legal fees he collected from Okonta".

The member elect however stated that nothing will stop his swearing-in as a member of the House next week Tuesday. “By the grace of God I will be sworn in next week Tuesday. Hon Martin Okonta is no longer a member of the House and that is the situation”, the member-elect said.

Mr. Philips was recently declared winner of the 2007 House of Assembly election for Ika South Constituency by the Federal Court of Appeal in Abuja.

Meanwhile it was learnt that the sacked speaker, Mr. Okonta is still perfecting delay tactics to frustrate the swearing in of Mr. Phillips.

The delay tactics it was learnt may not be unconnected to the perceived interest of the state governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan.