The Federal Government has announced that only civil servants with officially registered National Identification Numbers (NIN) will be permitted to make purchases as it commences the sale of 30,000 metric tons of processed rice.
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, announced the commencement of rice sales in Abuja on Thursday, September 5th. This initiative aims to combat racketeering and contribute to the reduction of food prices in Nigerian markets.
Only Nigerians With NIN Will Gain When FG Starts Selling Rice for ₦40,000 Per Bag
As the representative of President Bola Tinubu, Kyari stated that the intervention will be distributed strictly on a one-to-one basis, ensuring that each individual receives one bag.
The aforementioned rice, which will be sold at a fixed price of ₦40,000 for 50kg, is part of the federal government’s intervention to provide subsidized milled rice and alleviate the current food crisis in Nigeria.
“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 to applaud the immense efforts of the present administration such as the release of 42,000MT of Assorted Food Commodities (AFC) to vulnerable and the 30,000MT of milled rice which is being flagged-off for sales to Nigerians today 5th September, 2024.”
The minister blamed COVID-19, the Russia-Ukraine war, climate change amidst other localized factors/challenges for the high cost of food prices.
“This has led to increase concern and risk of food insecurity and general decline in the standard of living globally. I therefore urge us to understand that the present challenges are not peculiar to our great country” he said
He added that 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 put in place certain processes and conditions to ensure the transparency, wider reach and success of this exercise.
“This includes one man one 50kg of rice, others are the verification of intending 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,” he said
He implored citizens to cooperate with the relevant authorities to achieve the initiative.
“Let us work together to ensure that the dream of the present administration to uphold the fundamental right to food for all Nigerians is achieved. It is expected that with the injection of 30,000MT (1000 trucks of 30MT each of these 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.”
The director, food and strategic reserve of the ministry, Haruna Sule Abutu outlined the procedure to buy the subsidised rice.
“To qualify for the one person one bag, you must have National Identification Number, 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 center and pick up his bag. The receipt will indicate, time and point of collection to eliminate stampede.” he said