The federal government has commenced the sale of 30,000 metric tonnes of milled rice to Nigerians at subsidised rates of N40,000 per 50-kilogramme bag.

“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,” said the minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari.

Mr Kyari inaugurated the sale of the subsidised milled rice on Thursday in Abuja, saying the exercise would be carried out across the country.

“This food intervention can be said to be timely considering the times and challenges we are in as citizens of this great nation,” said Mr Kyari.

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.”

Mr Kyari said food prices and chains were distorted 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.

In a goodwill message, the Minister of State for FCT, Dr Mariya Bunkure, said the event was an important day to enhance the well-being of Nigerians.

Speaking to journalists, Haruna Sule, Director of Strategic Grains Reserve, Ministry of Agriculture, said civil servants could access the grains from the point of sale with their Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) and NIN.

Mr Sule said Nigerians could only use their NlN to access the rice.

“Once you have any of these three, you present it to the sales operators and it is logged on the platform that has been created.

“After this, you proceed to pay electronically with your ATM; once the payment is done, it is linked to the initial sales operator, and it shows that you have paid; then a receipt will be issued with a code number.

“With this code number, you will be issued with a treasury receipt to show you have paid to the government.

“Then, you are given a receipt which shows the point of collection and time of collection; this is to eliminate any form of stampede,” he said.

(NAN)