Amid squeezing hunger across the country, the Federal Government, Thursday, flagged off the sales of 30,000 metric tonnes of milled rice at N40,000 per 50kg bag to Nigerians as a measure to cushion the impact of high food prices that have persisted for over one year.
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.
"We are all aware that in the recent past, precisely aftermath of COVID-19, and due to the Russian-Ukraine war, the climate change, amidst other localized factors/challenges, food prices, farm yields, and food chains, were distorted globally, and Nigeria is not an exception.
"This has led to increased 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.
"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 42,000 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.
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"In view of the above, I therefore 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.
Meanwhile, he appealed to Nigerians to support the Tinubu administration, "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."
He expressed optimism that "it is expected that with the injection of 30,000 MT (1000 trucks of 30 MT 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.
"On behalf of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Asiwaju, Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, I hereby flag-off the sales of the FGN-milled rice to Nigerians at a subsidised rate.
"I sincerely also wish to use this opportunity to encourage Nigerians to remain steadfast and be patient with Mr. President as his numerous efforts to enhance food security will soon begin to pay off."
