The Federal Government, Thursday, has flagged off the sales of 30,000 metric tonnes of milled rice at N40,000 per 50kg bag to Nigerians
This the government says is a measure to cushion the impact of high cost of food in the market.
The Government also stated that beneficiaries will be determined using relevant identification mediums such as the National Identification Number (NIN) and phone numbers.
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, did the flag-off of the rice sale at the Ministry’s headquarters in Abuja.
Kyari said: “It is indeed my pleasure to welcome you all to this historical, all-important, and long-awaited flag-off of the sales of 30,000 MT of FGN milled rice to Nigerians at a subsidised rate of N40,000 per 50 kg.
“This kind gesture was made possible at the expense and directives of the President and Commander in Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, who does not want Nigerian citizens to go to bed hungry and, in his wisdom, deemed it important to initiate this food intervention.
“As one of the numerous efforts of the present administration to cushion the effect of high cost of food commodities, kindly join me to applaud the immense efforts of the present administration, such as the release of 42,000 MT of Assorted Food Commodities (AFC) to vulnerable and the 30,000 MT of milled rice that is being flagged off for sales to Nigerians today, 5th September, 2024.”
However, the Minister said to make the sales more transparent and well monitored, saying, “The Federal Government, being aware of the potential challenges associated with the sales of an important staple such as rice, at this critical period has deployed a multi-disciplinary machinery of government, as well as put in place certain processes and conditions to ensure the transparency, wider reach, and success of this exercise.
“This includes one man and one 50 kg of rice; others are the verification of intended beneficiaries using relevant identification mediums such as the National Identification Number (NIN) and phone numbers to forestall multiple access to this food commodity by fraudulent individuals at the detriment of other citizens.
