Palm seedlings for sale

A high quality palm seedlings from Malaysia with a maturity age of 2 years and 6 months is up for sale. It is well treated to survive our environment. It costs N450 per stand. Interested buyers should contact us on 08099040363, spytony4me@gmail.com or you can come to our cooperate office @ km 3 Umuahia ikot-Ekpene road opposite immaculate conception seminary ahiaeke. NB We have several plots of land in several locations within the university of Agriculture umudike that is very suitable for hostels. Contact us.

OPINION: Buhari has changed –

 Peter Okwoche
…..And I don’t mean the mantra that brought him to power nearly a year ago. I mean HE has changed.

I’ve interviewed him four different times now. The first time was in 2012. Then he wasn’t too sure if he still had the stomach to stand for election as president again, having already lost three previous times. The second time was just after his Chatham House Lecture, just weeks before last year’s elections. After his victory, I got a scoop: being the first international broadcaster to interview him.

Finally, I interviewed him again last Friday at the Abuja House, here I London. So, I guess it’s fair to say I have seen a few ‘phases’ of the man. You see during the chat I had with him last year at Chatham House, – the one before the election, President Buhari had all the solutions to Nigeria’s myriad of problems. Boko haram, would be defeated in no time (afterall this was an ex-General talking), corruption would be booted out with military alacrity and those found guilty of looting the nation’s treasury would become guests of the Nigerian Prisons Service.

I remember asking him if – should he win- we would witness the War Against Indiscipline type of rulership. I even jokingly asked him if was going to throw everyone in jail like he did in 1983. He replied with a question of his own: “Did I throw you in jail?” He sought to reassure Nigerians that his days in Khaki were gone for good and everything would be done swiftly, but democratically.

Fast forward a few weeks later to our next chat, the one after he had won. It took place on the day he received his Certificate Of Return. I was given just five minutes to talk to him, because CNN were waiting in the wings and he needed to pray as well. I asked him if he had come up with a plan to defeat Boko haram, yet. His response came as bit of a surprise; how could Nigerians expect him to defeat Boko Haram in weeks? Something the outgoing administration had been unable to do in six years. I also asked about his much touted War Against Corruption. His answer: “I made that promise and I hope Nigerians will give me the opportunity to see whether my efforts will be good enough or not.”

You see this was the first sign of change I saw in President Buhari. The urgency was missing and bureaucracy was creeping in. It wasn’t even subtle. But I decided that it had been a long day for him and would get longer still. Maybe he was just tired.

When I met President Buhari last week, I was one of his first appointments of the day. The Interview was scheduled for 10 am and when I arrived, his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity Femi Adesina told me I had twenty minutes with the President. As the interview got under way I began with his promise to defeat Boko Haram. Nine months after he took office the terrorists were still ravaging parts of the North east. No, he insisted, Boko Haram had been ‘technically defeated’.

When you defeat an enemy, they can no longer hit you, I told him. But Boko haram have just killed 65 Nigerians in the village of Dalori, near Maiduguri. He insisted they HAD been beaten and we agreed to disagree on the definition of ‘defeat’, as if it differs from a military man to one who has a degree in English language, Literature and Dramatic Arts.

As to the war against corruption he admitted not much had been done.
But it was when we were talking about the economy that I noticed that this new Buhari is actually the old one. The one that dressed in khaki’s from the 1980s. Against advice from experts that due to the slump in oil prices and the depletion of our purchasing power, the Naira needs to be devalued, Buhari insists that HE won’t devalue the Naira. He said his economic team had to convince HIM that the Naira should be devalued. But Mr. President it’s not about YOU! It’s about what’s good for Nigeria. Don’t get me wrong, I actually see the logic of his argument, that devaluation has never helped the Naira in the past. But his insistence that he had the final say was a bit off-putting. At times during the interview, his eyes narrowed and you could tell he found some of my questions irksome.

We to and fro’d for a while longer and as I wound up the interview, I thanked him for his time. “Yes thank you for your hard questions too!” he retorted.

Of the two main candidates that stood for last year’s election, I thought Buhari was the better man. I believe the description by Time Magazine of Goodluck Jonathan’s time in office was pretty accurate. But If I think back to 2011, then I believed GEJ was the right man; we were proved wrong. Buhari still has time to prove us right, but he can’t do that by changing back into military fatigues.”

Peter Okwoche is a Presenter on BBC World News.
..................

Desperation or frustration

Desperation or frustration.
I have observed with keen interest how the game of politics is being played for the forth coming rerun slated for 5th of march and can't help but express my disappointment on some of the candidates contesting the election. My major area of concentration is th Abia north where some expired and inconsistent politicians are telling the world why they should never ever be trusted with any public assignment. Am fully aware that the only constant thing is change,,, no doubt, I also know that a rolling stone gathers no moths. That men will sell their shame all in the name of politics is most disgusting. How can a man be a dog that goes back to its own vomit, today you are with Mr A, tomorrow it's shamelessly Mr B. With the rate our democracy is growing, such unreliable persons, not minding their political height or the positions they have held politically will be discarded. Am still wondering why a candidate will use his media house to falsely announce the disqualification of his opponent by INEC, tell the world that an organisation which detests him has endorsed him only for the reputable Igbo organisation to refute it immediately, also its a sign of frustration to start shouting foul even before the game commences. The real meaning of politics and democracy is beginning to dawn on our people. You can't eat your cake and expect to have it back. The opportunities we gave some people to reposition this state in time past is now haunting them because they messed them up.
Having gone through the candidates presented by the Abia north senatorial zone, I have seen only one man worthy of that post and that is Sen Mao Ohuabunwa. This is a man who proved his ingenuity when he was at the house of Representatives, a man who aside from moving many motions, attracted many environmental and human friendly projects to his senatorial zone, a man who understands and feels the pulse of his people, a man who was able to do so much for his people despite the negative political environment created by the then state government as against the then federal government,  a man who does not believe in pulling his opponents down, above all, a man filled with the love of God.
As we prepare to correct the little set back we experience at the court, I as all sons and daughters of Abia north to rise above petty cash and sentiments and choose a man who has over time distinguished himself in the person of Sen Mao Ohuabunwa. Follow better. ......

Vote for Sen Mao Ohuabunwa for qualitative representation

Senator Mao Ohuabunwa is a very natural man as long as the game of politics is concerned, he networks strategically to know what needs to be known. Sen Mao has absorbed the rhythms of legislative life by serving in key policy places. He has shown the capacity to predict what will work in politics, he has also shown the capability to survive the politics of the Senate as a professional representing Abia-North, just like he did in the federal house of Representatives
Mao's antecedents of development engineering as a representative of Arochukwu- Ohafia constituency in the federal house was unparalleled, and his horizons knew no limit. His exploits came naturally to him as he exhibited his flair with courage and enthusiasm. He discharged his legislative duties creditably and was instrumental in the adoption of several motions and more than 7 bills sponsored by him. One of such prominent bills was the national assembly service commission act which guaranteed employment for our youths and especially secured guaranteed tenured employment for many people, including his constituents in the administration of the national assembly. It behoves on all well meaning voters in the Abia north to choose between reality and fake. Senator Mao has shown why he should be trusted with our mandate and not his mate who only succeeded in impoverishing his own people during his tenure of office only to serve them with dirty waters in exchange of their valid and treasured votes. Vote Sen Mao Ohuabunwa for qualitative representation.

The Supreme Court and card reader

THE Supreme Court, yesterday, explained why it has not accorded any probative value on reports from Card Reader Machines that were deployed by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, during the 2015 general elections. The apex court, yesterday, maintained that though the use of the Electronic Card Reader Machine for accreditation of voters was provided for in the Approved Guidelines and Regulations for the conduct of the 2015 general elections, it said the device was never “intended to supplant, displace or supersede” the Voters’ Register. It observed that the issue had resulted to various Divisions of the Court of Appeal, giving divergent interpretations on election disputes that were brought before them by appellants. “True, indeed, the Card Reader Machine traces its paternity to the above Guidelines and Regulations. Regrettably, its probative pedestal in the vocabulary of electoral jurisprudence has generated conflicting interpretations from Their Lordships of the different Divisions of the Court of Appeal”, the Supreme Court noted. •Card reader A seven-man panel of Justices of the apex court, led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, made the position of the court on the matter known, while adducing reasons why the election of Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State was upheld. According to Justice Chima Centus Nweze who delivered the lead judgment, “With the intervention of this court, in its recent decision in Shinkafi v Yari (supra), it is hoped that practitioners and all other courts will begin to appreciate the position of the said Card Reader Machine, and the Reports generated therefrom, in election litigation. “Prior to the authorisation of its use by the Guidelines and Manual (supra), the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended), in sections 49 (1) and (2), had ordained an analogue procedure for the accreditation process. As a corollary to the procedure outline above, section 53(2) of the said Act (that is, the Electoral Act) enshrined the consequences for the breach, negation or violation of the sanctity of the actual poll sequel to the consummation of the accreditation procedure in section 49 (supra). “With the advantage of hindsight, INEC, pursuant to its powers under the said Electoral Act, authorised the deployment of the said Card Readers. “Even with the introduction of the said device, that is the Card Reader Machine, the National Assembly, in its wisdom, did not deem it necessary to bowdlerise the said analogue procedure in section 49 from the Act so that the Card Reader procedure would be the sole determinant of a valid accreditation process. “Contrariwise,   from the Corrigendum No 2, made on March 28, 2015, amending paragraph 13(b) of the Approved Guidelines, it stands to reason that the Card Reader was meant to supplement the Voter’ Register and was never designed or intended to supplant, displace or supersede it. “Indeed, since the Guidelines and Manual, which authorised the use and deployment of the electronic Card Reader Machine, were made in exercise of the powers conferred by the Electoral Act, the said Card Reader cannot, logically, depose or dethrone the Voters’ Register whose judicial roots are, firmly, embedded or entrenched in the selfsame Electoral Act from which it )the Voters’ Register). Directly, derives its sustenance and currency. “Thus, any attempt to invest it (the Card Reader Machine procedure) with such overreaching pre-eminence or superiority over the Voters’ Register is like converting an auxiliary procedure- into the dominant procedure- of proof, that is, proof of accreditation. “This is a logical impossibility. Indeed, only recently, this court in Shinkafi vs Yari, confirmed the position that the Card Reader Machine has not supplanted the statement of results in appropriate forms; hence, the appellant still had the obligation to prove petition relating to accreditation of voters and over-voting as enunciated in several decisions of this court”, Justice Nweze added. More so, using the Ebonyi state gubernatorial dispute as an instance, the apex court panel noted that the Head of Unit, ICT Data Management at INEC headquarters, who testified as the PW-8 before the tribunal, explained that the Card Reader performed two roles, namely, the verification of the Permanent Voters Card, PVC, and the authentication of fingerprint. It observed that the witness, who generated a Card Reader Machines Report for Ebonyi State Governorship Election, had admitted that it was not a complete report covering all the details of Polling Units in the state as some Polling Units were not uploaded and thus not included in the report. The witness said the report she tendered before the tribunal represented data that were successfully uploaded before the chairman of INEC gave an instruction for the server to be shut down. According to the Supreme Court, “Her trenchant responses, clearly, demonstrate that the Card Reader Machine Reports were neither inviolable nor sacrosanct as a host of intervening mischievous human variables could impinge on their reliability. “Against the background of the testimonies of PW8, it is, actually, surprising, that learned counsel to the appellant chose not to utilise the Voter’ Register, to show the entire gamut of the voters, but rather built his case on what, in the unanswerable words of the lower court was an exhibit that was not accurate, sufficient and comprehensive enough to be relied upon in proof of the allegation of non-compliance with the Electoral Act, 2010, as amended. “That is to say that the appellant (as Petitioner) failed to weave his case on the Voters ‘Registers and a fortiori did not produce such registers because if he had produced them, their contents would have been unfavourable to the allegations he made in the petition and hence his decision to withhold them. “Thus, the appellant laboured in vain in the spirited attempt he made before this court to have the findings of the lower court vacated. He was, indeed, attempting the impossible given the anaemic evidence he adduced. In my view, the lower court, rightly, affirmed the findings of the trial tribunal in this regard”. Besides, the apex court held that the appellant, Edward Nkwegu Okereke, who was the candidate of the Labour Party during the April 11, 2015, governorship election in Ebonyi state, could not lay credible evidence to support his case against governor Umahi of the Peoples Democratic Party. The court said the case of the petitioner failed owing to “irreparable damage of the testimony of witnesses” that testified for him at the lower tribunal, who it said were “thoroughly discredited in cross-examination”. It will be recalled that though the Supreme Court dismissed Okereke’s appeal on January 27, it however reserved its reasons for doing so till yesterday. Aside the CJN, other members of the apex court panel that also agreed with the lead judgment were Justices Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, Kumai Bayang Aka’ahs, Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, John Inyang Okoro . Culled from Vanguard