>
By Emmanuel Adeleke
The Federal Government has commenced the sale of 30,000 metric tonnes of milled rice to Nigerians at a subsidised rate of N40,000 per 50kg bag, stressing that only buyers with National Identification Numbers (NIN) would benefit.
President Bola Tinubu stated this at the flag-off ceremony on Thursday.
Represented by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, the president said the rice would be sold strictly on a “one person, one bag” basis.
He explained that the 50kg bags of rice, priced at a flat rate of ₦40,000, are part of the Federal Government’s effort to provide subsidised milled rice to help alleviate the ongoing food crisis in 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.
“As one of the numerous efforts of the present administration to cushion the effect of high cost of food commodities, kindly join me in applauding the immense efforts of the present administration such as the release of 42,000MT of Assorted Food Commodities (AFC) to the vulnerable and the 30,000MT of milled rice which is being flagged-off for sale to Nigerians today September 5, 2024,” he stated.
On buyer verification, Kyari explained that a multi-disciplinary government task force has been deployed to ensure transparency, broad distribution and the overall success of the initiative.
He emphasised that the process was designed to prevent individuals from obtaining more than one 50kg bag of rice, noting that beneficiaries will be verified through identification methods such as NIN and phone numbers to prevent fraudulent individuals from accessing multiple bags at the expense 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,” the minister added.
Speaking on the process Nigerians would have to follow to purchase the rice, the Director, Food and Strategic Reserve Department (FSRD), Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Haruna Sule, explained that civil servants can access the grains at designated points of sale by using their Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) details.
“To qualify for the one person one bag, you must have a NIN. Of course, you have phone numbers and those in public service are all registered under the Integrated Payroll and Personal Information System (IPPIS) platform.
“Once you have any of these three, at the point of sale, with the NIN logged into the system, a code number and a treasury receipt will be generated, and with that, the buyer can get to the collection centre and pick up his bag. The receipt will indicate, the time and point of collection to eliminate stampede,” he said.
Sule further clarified that the collection point is separate from the sales point, adding, “at the collection point, you present your code to our officials, and you will be handed a bag of rice.”
Recall that the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Idris Mohammed, had in July announced the sale of subsidised rice.
Following the announcement, the Ministry of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs, through its Human Resources Management Department, instructed civil servants to register for the purchase of the food item.
However, the government later suspended the plan without providing any explanation for the decision.
