By Austin Ogwuda

Asaba – BARELY forty-eight hours after Mr. Victor Ochei was sworn in as the new Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, the Court of Appeal has ruled that the four years which he occupied between 2003 and 2007 as a member representing Aniocha constituency was illegal.

Ochei was sworn in on June 7, 2011 while the Abuja Court of Appeal on  June 9, 2011 gave the declaration and awarded  N50,000 in favour of plaintiff in the case, Mr. Boniface Isichei, who had dragged the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,  and INEC to court for substituting his name as the duly elected candidate at the primaries with that of Ochei.

The then  National Chairman of PDP, Dr. Ahmadu Ali, had, while presenting his wife with party flag at the flag-off her senatorial campaign in Asaba in 2007, also  presented flag to Boniface Isichei  for the Aniocha North Assembly seat but the former Governor of the state, Chief James Ibori also at Oghara, presented Ochei flag for the same seat.

But when Isichei’s name was thereafter substituted with that of Ochei in the final list of candidates of the party for the 2007 election, Isichei went to court and won but Ochei not satisfied with the decision of the Federal High Court Abuja, appealed.

In its judgment, the Appeal Court said “on the whole, I find no merit in the points canvassed for the appellant (Ochei).”