The federal government has launched the sale of rice to Nigerians at the subsidized rate of ₦40,000 per 50kg, JomogNews reports.

The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, officially launched the sale and distribution of subsidized rice in Abuja on Thursday.

According to him, the development is timely and is part of the efforts of President Bola Tinubu to ensure Nigerians do not go to bed hungry.

The government made available 30,000 metric tonnes of milled rice to be sold at a subsidized rate to Nigerians.

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

“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 kilogramme.

“This kind gesture was made possible at the expense and directives of President Bola Tinubu, who does not want Nigerians citizens to go to bed hungry; and in his wisdom deemed, it important to initiate this food intervention.”

Kyari said buyers would be verified using their National Identification Number (NIN) and phone numbers to ensure each Nigerian does not get more than one bag and ensure the transparency, wider reach, and success of the exercise.

According to him, the injection of the 30,000MT of rice into the market is expected to crash the price of the foodstuff.

He said that intending beneficiaries would be “Verified using relevant identification mediums such as the 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 (1000 trucks of 30MT each of this important staple into Nigeria’s food balance sheet, it will not only crash the price of rice but also other closer food substitutes and alternatives.”

How To Buy

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

Buyers would pay electronically to the government at the point of sale and be issued a treasury receipt with a unique code number to show he/she has paid to the government.

The buyer’s receipt shows point of collection and time of collection; this is to eliminate any form of stampede.

“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,” Sule explained.

He noted that the point of collection is different from the point of sales, adding that “When you get to the collection point, you present your code to our officials and you will be given a bag of rice.”

In Abuja, he said the plan is to set up about five to six sales points across the FCT and the duration of the distribution will be for the period they are able to finish sales.