By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has approved the promotion of more than 2,000 employees of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) and the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).

The promotions follow a series of examinations conducted between Tuesday, November 25, and Saturday, November 29, 2025.

Announcing the development on Wednesday, the Chairman of the FCT Civil Service Commission, Emeka Ezeh, stated that the promoted staff span 165 different cadres. He described the move as a clear demonstration of the Minister’s commitment to staff welfare and career advancement.

Ezeh assured that promotion exercises would henceforth be conducted regularly and as scheduled. He encouraged civil servants to begin preparing early for the upcoming 2025 and 2026 promotion cycles, emphasizing that “only diligent and hardworking staff will be promoted.”

The Chairman reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to using the Computer-Based Test (CBT) method for all promotion examinations. He noted that this approach would strengthen the newly introduced digital examination platform, which was approved by the FCT Minister.

The Federal Government has reiterated its commitment to ensuring that farmers are actively involved in policy decisions aimed at boosting agricultural productivity and strengthening national food security.

The Manager, Research, Data and Impact Assessment at the Presidential Food Systems Coordinating Unit (PFSCU), Mr. Eniola Akindele, stated this during the Nigeria Sustainable Agricultural Value Chains for Growth Programme (AGROW) Agroecological Zonal Workshop held in Kano.

Akindele said the current administration is prioritising farmer-driven, market-oriented and results-based agricultural interventions, stressing that policies must respond to realities on the ground rather than follow a top-down approach.

According to him, AGROW focuses on strategic value chains including rice, wheat, tomato, sesame and sorghum, which are critical to Nigeria’s food security and economic development.

He explained that AGROW is a $500 million homegrown initiative led by Nigeria, co-created across the three tiers of government, and shaped in partnership with the private sector and development partners, with technical support from the World Bank.

Akindele noted that past agricultural programmes were hindered by fragmented public spending, blanket input subsidies, government-driven implementation models, opaque land administration systems and multiple informal trade levies.

He said the AGROW framework introduces a new approach centred on state-level agricultural support, financial incentives tied to market outcomes and targeted public investment. Other pillars include institutionalised private sector engagement, transparent and secure land administration, as well as efficient and predictable interstate agricultural trade.

The PFSCU official added that the programme is built on three major components: strengthening private sector linkages with smallholder farmers, modernising on-farm production systems, and effective project coordination, monitoring and evaluation.
He further outlined eligibility requirements for states seeking to participate in AGROW, including sustainable land-based investment processes, digital farmer registries, increased transparency in fees and levies for interstate trade, reduced reliance on input subsidies and stronger support for agricultural cooperatives.

In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Kano State Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Alhaji Bashir Sunusi, said the workshop aligns with the Kano State Government’s agenda to improve agricultural productivity and strengthen food systems.

He disclosed that the state government has recruited 1,038 agricultural extension workers, provided farming equipment such as tractors and power tillers, and established three mechanisation centres in Gaya, Dambatta and Kadawa.

Participants at the workshop were drawn from Sudan Savannah agroecological states of Kano, Katsina, Bauchi, Gombe, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara.

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

On Tuesday evening, the internet swirled with the report that the NNPP Chieftain, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has endorsed the planned defection of governor Kabir Yusuf Abba.

The said report was first published by the Premium Times Newspaper.

In the quest to finding the authenticity of the report, the Nigerian Tracker News digged further and found out that the report was inaccurate.

What is then Accurate?

Findings show that the accurate report is that the former Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, has advised his supporters, who are being pressured to join a political movement in the All Progressives Congress (APC), to sign any document indicating their agreement to do so.

Mr Kwankwaso, leader of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), spoke in Hausa on Tuesday in Kano while addressing some of his supporters. He described the movement his supporters are being pressured to join as the Gandujiyya movement of former APC national chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje.

Although Mr Kwakwanso repeatedly referred to the Gandujiyya movement, the statement is believed to refer to the pressure on many of his supporters to join the APC, alongside the state governor, Abba Yusuf.

Mr Kwankwaso stated that he was aware that some NNPP members holding elective or appointive offices in the state were being pressured. He said some of these officeholders were being asked to sign documents indicating that they agreed to defect to the Gandujiyya movement.

The former Kano governor urged such NNPP members to sign the documents so they do not suffer any victimisation by the state government.

“Several of our supporters who currently hold political appointments, as well as members of the State Assembly, have reached out to me in distress,” he said in Hausa, “Many of them have been unable to sleep at night; some have reportedly been hospitalised, receiving medical treatment, while others are showing signs of severe emotional strain”.

It was in the course of Premium Times Newspaper translating the Hausa language spoken in the video that it inaccurately reported that the former Kano governor has endorsed governor Abba’s planned defection.

Acknowledging its inaccurate report, the Premium Times Newspaper retract its first published story and apologized to its readers in that regard.

“Editor’s Note: We wrongly interpreted Mr Kwankwaso’s statement in Hausa to mean he was endorsing his supporters’ defection to the APC. That error, which is regretted, has been corrected in this copy,” Premium Times acknowledges.

Furthermore, the NNPP’s national spokesperson, Ladipo Johnson, issued a separate rebuttal, condemning the rumours as “a wicked and shameful falsehood” propagated by individuals “devoid of any scruples.”

Johnson accused those behind the reports of attempting to legitimise their exit by falsely claiming Kwankwaso’s backing.

“If you wish to leave, then leave. Do not insult the public by pretending you have Senator Kwankwaso’s support,” he stated.

He warned that members who abandon the party would be held accountable by voters in the 2027 elections.

The statement urged the public, party supporters, and the media to disregard the speculation and rely only on official and verified sources.