- He said the intervention was part of President Bola Tinubu effort to cushion the impact of inflation and high cost of living on the people
The federal government on Thursday announced the commencement of the sale of 50-kilogramme bag of rice to hungry Nigerians at subsidised rates of N40,000.
The minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, made the announcement while inaugurating the socio-economic scheme in Abuja.
He said the selling of the 30,000 metric tonnes of subsidised milled rice will be replicated across the Federation.
He said: “It is my pleasure to welcome you all to this historical, all-important and long-awaited inauguration of the sales of 30,000MT of federal government-milled rice to Nigerians at a subsidised rate of N40,000 per 50 kilogrammes
“This food intervention can be said to be timely considering the times and challenges we are in as citizens of this great nation.”
He said the intervention was part of President Bola Tinubu effort to cushion the impact of inflation and high cost of living on the people.
He added, “This kind gesture was made possible at the expense and directives of President Bola Tinubu, who does not want Nigerian citizens to go to bed hungry and, in his wisdom, deemed it important to initiate this food intervention.”
Kyari said food prices and chains were disrupted globally after COVID-19, the Russian-Ukraine war, and climate change, amidst other localised factors and challenges. According to him, Nigeria is not an exception.
He said the federal government was aware of the potential challenges associated with the sales of an important staple, such as rice, at this critical period.
Mr Kyari said a multi-disciplinary machinery of government had been deployed to ensure the transparency, wider reach and success of the exercise.
The minister said the rice purchase process included one person to one 50kg bag of rice.
Mr Kyari said intending beneficiaries would be verified using relevant identification mediums such as the National Identification Number (NIN) and phone numbers to forestall multiple accesses to the commodity by fraudulent individuals at the detriment of other citizens.
“In view of the above, I urge our dear citizens to cooperate with the relevant agencies of government who will try to serve you to achieve this great initiative of government.
“It is expected that with the injection of 30,000MT (1,000 trucks of 30MT) each of this important staples into Nigeria’s food balance sheet.
“It will not only crash the price of rice but also other closer food substitutes and alternatives,” he said