Yakubu Mohammed, a co-founder of Newswatch magazine and its former deputy chief executive officer, has died at the age of 75.

He was reported to have been battling an undisclosed ailment before his death. As of press time, an official statement from his family was still awaited.

His death comes barely two months after the passing of his long-time colleague and fellow Newswatch co-founder, Dan Agbese, who died after a prolonged illness on November 17, 2025.

Vanguard

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.