BREAKING: ARGUNGU/AUGIE FEDERAL CONSTITUENCY: Court orders INEC to publish NOMA as PDP Candidate

The Federal High Court sitting in Birnin Kebbi has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to accept and publish the name of SANI YAKUBU NOMA as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 General Elections.


Sani Yakubu Noma contested the primary election of the PDP for Argungu/Augie Federal Constituency of Kebbi State conducted on 25th May, 2022 and won.

However, PDP submitted the name of GARBA ARGUNGU who contested the Kebbi Governorship and lost. Dissatisfied with the submission of Argungu’s name, NOMA through his Counsel J.J Usman, SAN filed an action SUIT NO:FHC/KB/CS/20/2022 BETWEEN SANI YAKUB NOMA V. HARUNA GARBA ARGUNGU & 2 ORS before the Federal High Court in Birnin Kebbi.
Upon being served with the Originating Summons, ARGUNGU and PDP filed Preliminary Objections to the suit.


The Court presided by Justice Baba Gana Ashigar in his judgment delivered on Monday 5th September 2022, agreed with Usman SAN and held that the Preliminary Objections filed against the suit were frivolous and dismissed them. In considering the Originating Summons, the Court upheld all the argument of the Plaintiff through his Counsel J.J Usman, SAN and held that the Plaintiff’s suit is meritorious.

The Court therefore directed INEC to accept and publish the name of SANI YAKUBU NOMA as the only candidate of the PDP for Argungu/Augie Federal Constituency of Kebbi State in the 2023 General Elections.

To foster new type of international relations of huge significance: Armenian expert

By CaoShiyun, People’s Daily

“China has made admirable development achievements, and the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) is the source of the country’s development miracle,” said BenyaminPoghosyan, chairman of the Center for Political and Economic Strategic Studies in Armenia, during a recent interview with People’s Daily.

Under the strong leadership of the CPC, China has reached its first centenary goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, he said.

“Chinese leaders always put people’s interests in the first place, and the people-centered development approach has set a good example for other countries,” said Poghosyan.

“The Chinese people are more affluent today than they were decades ago. They always wear a smile on their faces and are energetic,” Poghosyan said.

As a scholar, he has visited a number of Chinese cities, including Beijing, Chongqing, Shenzhen and Guangzhou, contributing to China-Armenia exchanges and cooperation in multiple fields.

“The Chinese people are hospitable and friendly to foreigners. Visiting China feels like coming home to me,” Poghosyan noted.

Paying visits to local museums is something that Poghosyan must do after he arrives in a city. “From the development course of Chinese cities, I can sense the drastic changes that have taken place in the country,” Poghosyan said.

“From building modern infrastructure to improving ecology, China’s urban construction is very impressive,” he told People’s Daily.

Poghosyan believes that unsustainable and unequal economic growth is what causes the wealth gap, and that is bothering many developing countries.

“The CPC always values people-centered development and promotes balanced urban-rural and regional development, so as to lead the Chinese people toward the goal of common prosperity. China’s successful experience is worth learning for political parties from many other countries,” Poghosyan said.

“During my visits to China, my Chinese friends shared with me their experience and wisdom in politics and economy, which deepened my understanding of Chinese domestic and foreign policies,” the man said, who pays high attention to China’s whole-process people’s democracy.

He said China’s democratic construction is worth learning, adding that democracy is not exclusive to a few countries, and every country has the right to choose its own path to democracy.

“The political parties of some countries always forget their promises after winning elections and even implement the opposite policies. However, China’s institutional arrangement makes it possible foreveryone in Chinese society to have the opportunity to join in the country’s decision-making,” Poghosyan noted.

As a reader of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s book –“Xi Jinping: The Governance of China”, Poghosyan has been deeply impressed by the remarks of the Chinese leader.

“China upholds that all countries are equal, irrespective of size, strength, and wealth. It respects the right of all countries to choose their own path of development, upholds international equity and justice, and opposes the act of imposing one’s will on others. The country respects the right of the people of all countries to choose their own development path, and opposes acts that impose one’s will on others or interfere in the internal affairs of others,” Poghosyan said.

President Xi’s proposal to foster a new type of international relations is of huge significance, especially when changes are taking place in international situation, the Poghosyan said, adding that it helps realize win-win cooperation.

He said the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind and the Global Development Initiative proposed by President Xi have paved a path of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation for global countries, and are significant for promoting friendship among them.

China has beenArmenia’s second largest trading partner, second largest destination of exports and second largest source of imports for years. Armenia is an active participantin the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the two countries have reached a series of agreements on the joint construction of the Belt and Road.

As an expert on the BRI, Poghosyan promoted the establishment of the Armenian branch of a network for cooperation among NGOs in countries along the Belt and Road, which has carried out a series of pragmatic cooperation projects.

“I’m glad to cooperate with my Chinese counterparts to expand mutual understanding and promote constant development of Armenia-China friendship,” Poghosyan said.

During the interview, he also sent his wishes to the upcoming 20th CPC National Congress. “I believe the 20th CPC National Congress will lay a solid foundation for China to maintain steady development and realize the second centenary goal of fully building a modern socialist country in all respects. It will be another important milestone inthe great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,” he told People’s Daily.

BREAKING: COURT AFFIRMS AKPOTI KOGI PDP SENATORIAL CANDIDATE, FLOORS ATTA

The Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja has on Friday dismissed the suit filed against the candidature of Barr Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.

The Court presided by Justice Peter Mallong upheld the preliminary Objection filed and argued by J.J. Usman (SAN) on behalf of Akpoti and held that the suit is incompetent and deprived the Court of its jurisdiction.

In the Originating Summons filed by Adamu Atta, the Plaintiff alleged that Natasha did not win the Primary Election of the PDP for Kogi Central Senatorial District for the 2023 General election and therefore her nomination should be nullified. In opposing the suit, Natasha through her Counsel J.J Usman, SAN filed a preliminary Objection relying on Section 97 of the Sherriff and Civil Process Act that the Originating Summons was not endorsed as required by law, therefore, incurably incompetent and deprived the Court of its jurisdiction. Akpoti further deposed in her counter affidavit that the election conducted on 25th May, 2022 was monitored by INEC and she validly won attaching the result, delegates list and INEC report to drive home her point.

In its judgment, the Court agreed with USMAN SAN that the suit was improperly commenced and the Court lacks jurisdiction to hear an incompetent suit thereby dismissing the suit.

Technology gives a leg up to smart transportation

By Liu Leyi

Nowadays, facial scanning has replaced high-speed train tickets, and median barriers can be remotely controlled to adjust traffic flow. What’s more, automated parking systems have freed drivers from parking and pulling out.
Grasping the opportunities brought by digital economy and being integrated with big data technology, the transportation sector has become smarter over the recent years.

According to a guideline on the long-term development of transportation technology jointly issued by the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Science and Technology, China will vigorously develop intelligent transportation, speed up the application of a new generation of information technology and aerospace information technology in the transportation sector, and accelerate the building of new transportation infrastructure.

Smart roads have embraced prosperous development over the recent years as roads are digitalized and made internet-based.
As the first pilot project of smart expressway in east China’s Shandong province, the Tai’an-Zaozhuang section of the Beijing-Taipei Expressway has adopted a series of smart technologies.
It can maintain smooth traffic by acquiring precise information on the road. Within 20 kilometers from the Manzhuang entrance of the expressway in Tai’an, Shandong province, there is a pole by the side of the road every 200 meters, on which a communication unit is installed. The unit receives traffic information and sends it to relevant vehicles for smoother traffic.

Besides, there are 182 high-definition surveillance cameras, 15 sets of omnidirectional millimeter-wave radars and 33 sets of laser radars along the Beijing-Taipei Expressway. The traffic information collected by the equipment is transmitted to a smart traffic control platform, and then the platform processes the data it receives and gives precise evaluation of current traffic conditions.

A man surnamed Wang, who works in Tai’an, once had a vehicle failure on the expressway. Just seconds after he pulled over, he received a reminder from the smart traffic control platform. Meanwhile, Wang’s location was reported to relevant traffic control departments by the platform. In less than 10 minutes, rescue staffs showed up at the location and towed Wang’s vehicle to the nearest exit.

“Now, surveillance camera-enabled automatic inspection has reduced the average disposal time of traffic accidents from 28 minutes to 19 minutes per case, improving disposal efficiency by 32.1 percent,” said Shi Ning, who works at the command and dispatching center of the expressway.

Fan Shujian, an official with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said the upgrading of the transportation sector driven by digital technologies has shaped new business models and forms that improve the safety and efficiency of urban roads and expressways.

Recently, a batch of smart service robots started their “careers” at the Caoqiao station of the Daxing Airport Express of the Beijing Subway. These speech-interactive machines provide route information and schedule and are able to guide passengers to the locations they want.

In Fuzhou, southeast China’s Fujian province, a smart parking system has been constructed. It enables drivers to search for and reserve available parking spaces online.
Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang province, introduced to its taxi fleet a number of barrier-free cabs that can carry six passengers at most. These cabs have access ramps and can be hailed on mobile applications.

In the future, China will further enhance its innovation in the transportation sector to promote faster and better development of new infrastructure and smart transportation.

Adegoroye harps on government, media partnership on policies

Minister of State for Transportation, Prince Ademola Adegoroye, has reiterated the need for media practitioners to play the role of partners in progress with government on policies and programmes aimed at making life better for Nigerians.

The Minister, while receiving on a courtesy visit some officers of the Abuja Transportation and Aviation Correspondents Association (ATACA) in his office in Abuja, said the fourth estate of the realm has a key and patriotic role to play in Nation building.

This was contained in a statement signed Wednesday by the Special Assistant on Media to the Minister of State for Transportation, Prince Ebenezer Adeniyan.

Adegoroye, who said the Minister of Transportation, Alhaji Mu’azu Jaji Sambo and himself have enjoyed a reasonable level of support from the media since their assumption of office, added that sustaining such level of support would be of immense benefit to the Ministry.

“It is important for those of us in government to maintain a productive relationship with those of you in the media because of the crucial duties your profession has bestowed on you to perform. We must continue to be partners in progress for the good of our Nation.

“I do not make undue criticism of the media because I understand what journalists go through to do their job. I know the challenges you face daily and the sacrifices you make on the job and you must appreciate the dignity of your profession.

“Of course, Alhaji Sambo and I have a short period to spend here before the end of the Muhammadu Buhari administration but we both want to leave an indelible mark here and we invite you to support us in making that happen”, Adegoroye said.

The Minister said he has taken note of and will put into consideration the demands of the journalists on improving the existing relationship with the Ministry, stressing that suggestions and inputs of the media practitioners will always be welcome and appreciated.

Speaking earlier, the Chairman of the Abuja Transport and Aviation Correspondents Association (ATACA), Mr. Chris Agabi, said the visit was to congratulate and welcome Adegoroye to the Transport Ministry and to establish a working relationship with the Minister and his team.

Agabi, who said members of the association are willing to support the Minister and add value to his activities, added that such working relationship will go a long way in bridging the gap between the government and the governed.


Chinese logistics network expands markets of agricultural products


By Li Xinping, Wang Yongzhan, People’s Daily
The hottest days of the summer mark a time when peaches mature and hit the market.
At 9:30 am, a box of peaches was sent to a Beijing consumer after a long air journey. The delivery took only less than 16 hours from a village in southwest China to the capital in the north.
It’s hard to imagine that at 5:00 pm the day before, these peaches were still hanging on the trees in an orchard in Baoshi village, Longquanyi district, Chengdu, southwest China’s Sichuan province.
Longquanyi district is a major producer of peaches in China. It boasts fertile purple soil that’s rich in nutrients that are good for growing peaches, such as phosphorus and potassium.
In 2016, a cooperative was established by 51 farmers in the district under the support of the local bureau of agriculture and rural affairs. They contributed their land as equity, started large-scale planting and implemented unified production, operation and sales. Today, the cooperative has 147 farmers and an orchard area covering over 1,400 mu (93.3 hectares), 400 mu of which has already produced fruit.
Both the varieties and management of peaches matter. Xiao Jiajie, a 47-year-old agricultural technician of the cooperative told People’s Daily that the cooperative has planted many varieties bred by experts from the Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, who often visit the orchards to guide farmers in scientific planting techniques.
With the new facilities, techniques and varieties brought by the experts, peaches produced in Baoshi village are improving in quality and quantity. “We can produce over 1,000 kg per mu,” Xiao said while picking a peach, “This variety tastes more crisp and sweet.”
At 5:45 pm, Xiao arrived at a parcel collection center in the village with the peaches she had just picked from the trees. Covered with shockproof and air-permeable packages, the peaches were loaded onto a truck for shipment.
Chen Qingfeng, a supervisor of the cooperative, said that the cooperative enjoys discounts on shipment charges with the agreements signed with express delivery companies. At least four trucks would go to the village for collecting peaches.
The cooperative is expected to see a sales volume of 2 million yuan ($292,817) this year, half of which will be achieved through e-commerce, Chen said.
About an hour later, Xiao’s peaches arrived at a transfer station of Chinese logistics giant SF Express at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport, where they were disinfected and sorted in a special fast track. A freight plane was already waiting there on a runway.
Since this year, SF Express has designated nearly 1,000 vehicles and five planes for the shipment of Longquanyi peaches. As of Aug. 9, the company had transported over 1,000 tons of peaches from the district.
The “peach expresses” are spread all over China’s major production areas. The company has also deployed 400 flights, each with a capacity of over 10,000 tons, as well as nine high-speed freight trains to expand the market of peaches produced in Yangshan, east China’s Jiangsu province. Between June 1 and Aug. 8, SF Express shipped over 4 million parcels containing Yangshan peaches, up around 30 percent year on year.
At 1:20 am the next day, Xiao’s peaches took off with the plane, and they were soon sorted and delivered to the Beijing buyer. The seasonal fruits, still fresh and juicy, have completed their 16-hour journey.
The journey mirrored the efforts of Chinese express delivery companies to increase their infrastructure investment and expand their shipment capacity by air, high-speed railway and road. It indicated a huge improvement in China’s shipping capacity.
In the first half of this year, 21.9 billion parcels were collected from and delivered to China’s rural areas, facilitating 290 billion yuan of online retail sales, up 12.4 percent over the same period last year.
More agricultural products are offered to a larger market through the constantly improving logistics network, boosting farmer income and surprising consumers.

China sets world record in steady high magnetic field research

Chinese scientists recently produced a steady field of 452,200 gauss, or 45.22 Tesla, beating the previous world record set nearly 23 years ago to become the highest steady magnetic field by a working magnet in the world.The new world record occurred at the hybrid magnet of the Steady High Magnetic Field Facility (SHMFF) in Hefei, east China’s Anhui province, indicating China’s ability to provide firm support for scientists’ exploration of the physical world.

A solenoid can produce a magnetic field when an electric current passes through it – the higher the current, the stronger the magnetic field. That’s how the hybrid magnet of the SHMFF was designed.

However, larger electric currents would also lead to a surging electromagnetic force upon the conductor, hence extraordinarily increasing the heat of the hybrid magnet. Therefore, precise, stable and advanced materials and processing techniques are needed to generate a stronger magnetic field that’s steady and controllable.

The Earth’s magnetic field is about 0.5 gauss, which is able to make the magnetized needle of any compass in the world point to the south. The record-breaking steady field generated by China’s SHMFF this time, which stands at 452,000 gauss, is 900,000 times stronger than the Earth’s magnetic field.

The steady high magnetic field creates extreme experimental conditions for the study of physical science and contributes to major scientific discoveries. It helps scientists find new physical phenomena and laws of matter.

Widely applied in physics, chemistry, material science, life science and engineering, the high magnetic field is a tool for crossover studies of science, engineering and technologies. It is also hailed as a cradle for Nobel Prizes.

There are currently five major labs of steady high magnetic fields around the world located in the U.S., France, the Netherlands, Japan and China.

In 2016, the Chinese team produced a steady field of 40 Tesla, five Tesla lower than the 45-Tesla world record created by the U.S. in 1999.

This time, though the new record set by China is only 0.22 Tesla higher than the previous record, the progress was made with incredibly huge efforts.

Ye Zhaohui, academician of the Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), compared the progress to how 100-meter dash performance is improved.

“At present, the world record of (men’s) 100-meter dash is 9.58 seconds, but it’s still not clear whether this is the fastest humans can run. To run even 0.01 second faster than the record is incredibly difficult,” he said.Similarly, to improve even the tiniest bit on the basis of 45 Tesla calls for huge efforts, including the improvement of materials, technology, techniques and energy supply, as well as innovation in research and design methods, Ye told People’s Daily.

According to him, it took five years for Chinese scientists to set the new record, during which they made over 10 technological revolutions and solved a number of problems, making major technical breakthroughs.

The new record has laid a solid foundation for the establishment of an opto-magnetic facility, another major science facility planned by the CAS High Magnetic Field Laboratory.

Kuang Guangli, academic director of the laboratory introduced that the opto-magnetic facility will include a series of magnet devices with the world’s highest steady-state magnetic field represented by 55-Tesla hybrid magnets and 36-Tesla superconductive magnets, as well as advanced wave sources such as microwave and visible light.

It will be used to build a batch of opto-magnetic measurement systems in high magnetic fields that aim to solve bottlenecks of major national needs in the development of new electronic materials, research and application of high-temperature superconductivity mechanisms, new medicine development and manufacturing of special materials. 

“we have invested over $2.3billion in Nigeria”- SANY

Chinese heavy construction machine manufacturing company Sany says its investment into the Nigeria economy is now over $2.3 billion US dollars. This was the revelation made by the company’s Service manager Mr. Afeez Salau while speaking with newsmen in Abuja. He noted that through its operation in the country the company has deepened and expanded the arrays of construction equipment available in the Nigerian market. “Sany is an established global brand with presence in all parts of the world and the second largest construction and mining machine manufacturer in the world, we have been in Nigeria for 17 years. We have deepened the construction equipment market through our investment. In the last 3 years, we have had a year on year growth of 50% in the industry, and we took the biggest market share of excavator in Nigeria with the support of Nigerian government and construction industry. With this growth we are increasing our presence across the country, with plans to establish offices in Kano and Port Harcourt apart from the existing ones in Lagos and Abuja to further contribute to the development of Nigeria. Speaking on its future plans and technological transfer efforts Mr Afeez said Sany was currently expanding its team of service engineers who would be only Nigerians, “We are building our sales and service team that would be comprised of only Nigerians with little support from Chinese exparts, we are recruiting technicians from the local colleges. We are going to keep improving the recruitment of Nigerian to develop with Nigeria together”. He added that the company also contributes to capacity development by assembling parts of the machines on site and uses the opportunity to teach local staffs how to assemble the parts themselves. ” There is also a plan to setup a production plant in Nigeria, and employ Nigerian engineers so that the components can be manufactured and distributed here” .He said that currently Sany has over 2,000 units of Sany machines working in different parts of Nigeria, including excavators, cranes, pump, trucks, rotary drilling rigs among others. “The reliability of our machines, availability of service parts and good after sales service continue to attract patronage to Sany equipment” he said.

Digital economy helps empower China’s high-quality development


A digital system connecting 1 million electronic research and development (R&D) engineers, 100,000 upstream and downstream factories, and customers from more than 210 countries displays instant information at Jiangxi Jiepei Industrial Internet Co., Ltd. in Shangrao City, east China’s Jiangxi Province.

General Manager Huang Cheng said that through this self-developed digital system, the company can track and analyze detailed order progress in real time to ensure that each order is completed on schedule.

This is a microcosm of China’s high-quality economic development driven by the digital economy.

More than 300 digital economy insiders, including professionals, scholars and business leaders, shared the latest achievements in China’s digital economy and discussed its future development at the 2022 China Digital Economy Industry Conference held in Shangrao from Aug. 20 to 21.

Xu Yanhao, deputy Party secretary of the China Association for Science and Technology, said that developing the digital economy has become key to achieving economic recovery and promoting sustainable development.

China has issued a series of policies and measures to promote the development of the digital economy, Xu added.

Data shows that the scale of China’s digital economy soared from 11 trillion yuan (1.6 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2012 to 45.5 trillion yuan in 2021, accounting for 39.8 percent of the country’s GDP in 2021.

“As one of the world’s most active countries in digital development, China has accelerated the digital transformation of its traditional industries, and accelerated innovation in multiple application scenarios such as social governance, public services, production and livelihoods,” said Lyu Weiping, deputy general manager of the China Electronics Technology Group Corporation.

A newly released white paper on the global digital economy notes that the scale of China’s digital economy has ranked second globally for many years.

Wang Ning, president of the China Electronics Chamber of Commerce, said that all parties should carry out collaborative research on core technologies, make full use of the advantages of massive data and rich application scenarios, promote the in-depth integration of digital technologies and the real economy, advance the digital transformation in all sectors, and jointly create an innovative ecosystem for the digital economy.

“China should actively participate in international cooperation in the digital field, establish standards, rules and governance schemes for digital technologies, products and services, and make the digital economy more open and inclusive,” Xu said.

China’s “king of forages” paves way to prosperity for Mauritanian herdsmen

By HuangPeizhao, People’s Daily

“Thanks to the ‘king of forages’ from China, livestock now have enough food to eat and the environment is getting better,” said Abdu, a herdsman from Al-Idiny, a village 60 kilometers away from Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania.

Lying in the outer peripheral area of the Sahara Desert, Al-Idinywas once a barren piece of land covered by sands, Abdu told People’s Daily.

The “king of pastures” he said is Medicago sativa, also known as lucerne. It was introduced to the African country by Chinese animal husbandry experts. As an herbaceous plant in the legume family Fabaceae, lucerne is excellent for fattening livestock.

According to local customs, when a man asks for permission to marry a woman from the woman’s family, he has to send at least 10 sheep to the family as a betrothal gift.

Abdu told People’s Daily that he only kept five sheep in the past, and three of them died because there was not enough forage. The remaining two were skin and bones, he said.

It was the arrival of Chinese experts that promoted the progress of local animal husbandry. “Now I keep 10 sheep and all of them are fat. I’ll be able to get married soon. I appreciate the assistance from our Chinese friends,” Abdu noted.

Animal husbandry is one of the pillar industries in Mauritania. However, over 80 percent of the country’s land is covered by sands and the dry season there spans as long as nine months. Rainfall isscarce and meadows are becoming deserts. Many people in Al-Idiny, including Abdu, once believed that it was impossible to grow plants in thedesert.

In 2016, an animal husbandry technology demonstration center aided by China started trial operation in the African country. Chinese experts improved local soil by employing water-saving irrigation methods and organic fertilizers. Finally, the first batch of lucerne was grown in April 2017. The plant has an average growth period of a month, and every mu (about 667 square meters) of land can produce over two tons of dried lucerne on an annual basis.

Today, Al-Idiny is home to nearly 1,000 mu of lucerne. The plant, striking a balance between forage and livestock, has made the village a big name for poverty alleviation. It is often visited by officials and herdsmen from other regions, hoping to learn about lucerne-growing techniques.

Abdu said in 2018, then Mauritanian President MohamedOuldAbdelAzizhad an inspection tour to Al-Idiny. Seeing the prospering lucerne, Aziz couldn’t believe that the plant was actually growing in the desert, Abdu recalled.

“I’m grateful to Chinese experts who havebrought us the ‘king of forages.’ The lucerne changed our livesand improved the image of our village,” Abdu noted.