ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

The Federal Government has received the final report of the National Technical Working Group on the World Bank-supported $500 million Sustainable Agricultural Value Chains for Growth Programme (AGROW).

This was disclosed by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Tuesday.

Mr Shettima noted that the receipt of the final report marks the conclusion of the programme’s design phase and its transition to implementation.

He said the government, through the AGROW programme, is bridging the gap between farmers and national planning and policy-making decisions at the centre.

The VP noted that while the challenge in the agricultural sector had been the distance between farmers who till the earth and the systems that determine what their labour is worth, the government is set to implement the process of shortening that distance.

The US$500 million World Bank-supported programme was developed through seven zonal consultations involving 32 states, reflecting the increasing commitment of subnational governments to agricultural development.

It also reflected the state’s readiness to assume greater responsibility for productivity, infrastructure, extension services and market development.

The Vice President described the AGROW programme report as the conclusion of a design process that restores the farmer to the centre of our national economic reasoning, where he has always belonged.

“Today marks the transition of AGROW from programme design to implementation,” he added.

Mr Shettima maintained that the World Bank US$500 million Nigerian agriculture programme is targeted at developing a programme rooted in the realities of farmers, delivered through Nigeria’s states, and capable of attracting the private investment required to move agriculture from subsistence to scale.

The Vice President noted that agriculture, a sector that accounts for 23 per cent of the nation’s GDP and sustains 34 per cent of its workforce, must not be treated as a negligible sector, attended to at leisure and financed at the margins.

He said no other sector carries as many livelihoods or touches as many households as the agriculture sector, noting that most Nigerians earn a living from the tilling of the soil.

“When yields rise, food prices ease, rural incomes recover, industries receive raw materials, and the pressure on our cities and foreign reserves begins to relax. When yields fall, the entire economy discovers the price of hunger.

“Productivity on the farm is therefore a question of growth, employment, food security and poverty reduction. What we do to the farm, we do to the nation,” Mr Shettima stated.

The Vice President expressed satisfaction with the response from states, saying it reveals the scale of the opportunity before the nation.

He stressed that the participation of 32 states in seven consultations to shape AGROW reflects “both the urgency of the challenges confronting agriculture and the growing appetite across Nigeria for agricultural development and investment.”

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

The Federal Government has clarified reports surrounding a budgetary provision for churches in Abia State, stating that the allocation is not a ₦1 billion expenditure solely for the purchase of musical instruments but part of a broader youth re-orientation and community support initiative.News In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Office of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, the office explained that the actual allocation stands at ₦780 million after Value Added Tax (VAT) and other statutory deductions.

According to the statement signed by the Deputy Speaker’s Chief Press Secretary, Levinus Nwabughiogu, the funds are earmarked for a Youth Re-orientation and Social Support Programme to be implemented through faith-based organisations across Bende Federal Constituency in Abia State.

The office said the programme will benefit more than 130 churches, with each expected to receive between ₦5 million and ₦6 million in the first phase of implementation. It explained that Bende Federal Constituency has 13 electoral wards and over 200 churches, adding that about 10 churches will be selected from each ward to participate in the initial phase.

According to the statement, the funds will be used to procure evangelical musical instruments and public address systems to strengthen church-led youth engagement initiatives aimed at tackling social vices, including drug abuse, sexual offences and violent crime, while promoting discipline, peace, moral values and character development among young people.

The Deputy Speaker’s office stressed that the intervention should not be viewed as an expenditure on musical instruments alone but as part of the government’s broader non-kinetic approach to addressing insecurity and promoting national unity through trusted community institutions. It argued that nation-building involves not only physical infrastructure but also investment in the moral and value systems of citizens, noting that faith-based organisations have long played critical roles in community development and youth mentorship.

The statement also pointed out that traditional institutions have similarly received government support through the provision of town halls and community engagement centres to preserve cultural values.

Responding to criticism generated by earlier reports, the office said claims that ₦1 billion was budgeted exclusively for church musical instruments misrepresented the purpose of the allocation.

It further disclosed that a technical error was identified in the procurement description contained in the budget, adding that a letter of corrigendum had already been initiated to correct the description through the appropriate budgetary process before implementation. The office also clarified that no funds have been released for the programme because the 2026 budget has not yet been funded or implemented.

It noted that Nigeria is currently operating under the 2024 and 2025 budgets and that procurement will only begin after the necessary releases are made.

The Deputy Speaker’s office urged the media and members of the public to disregard what it described as sensational reports and support initiatives aimed at promoting youth development, peace and moral values across communities.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Nigeria has dropped to 90th position on the latest Henley Passport Index, with holders of the Nigerian passport able to access 44 destinations without obtaining a visa in advance.

The July 2026 global ranking, released by Henley & Partners on Tuesday, ranked the Nigerian passport 90th out of 199 passports assessed worldwide, with a visa-free score of 44.

The new ranking marks a one-place drop from the 89th position Nigeria occupied in the April 2026 edition of the index, while the country’s visa-free score remained unchanged at 44 destinations.

In a statement on its website on Tuesday, Henley & Partners said the index, released on the occasion of its 20th anniversary, ranks passports based on the number of destinations their holders can access without obtaining a prior visa.

It added that the ranking covers 199 passports and 227 travel destinations using data from the International Air Transport Association.

Among African countries, South Africa retained the continent’s strongest passport, ranking 49th globally with visa-free access to 101 destinations.

Botswana followed in 61st place with access to 81 destinations, while Ghana ranked 70th with a visa-free score of 67. Morocco placed 67th with 71 destinations, while Kenya shared the 68th position with 70 destinations.

Nigeria ranked alongside the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Turkmenistan, each with visa-free access to 44 destinations.

Globally, Singapore retained the world’s most powerful passport, offering visa-free access to 192 destinations.

Japan ranked second with access to 188 destinations, while South Korea and the United Arab Emirates shared third place with 187 destinations.

The United States of America sits disappointingly at 10th position with 180 destinations.

At the bottom of the ranking, Afghanistan remained the world’s weakest passport, with visa-free access to just 22 destinations.

Syria ranked 103rd with access to 25 destinations, while Iraq placed 102nd with 28 destinations.

The latest ranking comes months after Nigeria climbed six places on the Henley Passport Index between January 2024 and April 2026, rising from 95th to 89th despite its visa-free access falling from 45 to 44 destinations.

According to Henley’s April 2026 report, Nigeria lost visa-free access to countries including Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mauritania, São Tomé and Príncipe and Somalia over recent years, although it gained access to several Pacific island destinations.