The Federal government has launched the sale of 50kg bags of rice at a subsidized rate of N40,000, requiring buyers to present their National Identification Number (NIN) for verification.
Abubakar Kyari, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, announced this during the inauguration in Abuja on Thursday, stating that the initiative will be implemented nationwide.
It is my pleasure to welcome you all to this historic, all-important, and long-awaited inauguration of the sales of 30,000MT of federal government-milled rice to Nigerians at a subsidized rate of N40,000 per 50 kilogrammes,” said Kyari.
He noted that the food intervention comes at a critical time given the challenges facing the nation.
“This food intervention can be said to be timely considering the times and challenges we are in as citizens of this great nation,” he added.
Kyari attributed the initiative to President Bola Tinubu, stating, “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.”
He pointed out that food prices and supply chains have been globally disrupted by factors like COVID-19, the Russia-Ukraine war, and climate change, and Nigeria is no exception.
The government is aware of the potential challenges in distributing a key staple like rice during this period, Kyari said, but reassured that a multi-disciplinary team had been deployed to ensure transparency and accessibility.
Each buyer will be limited to one 50kg bag of rice, with verification done through NIN and phone numbers to prevent fraud.
“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,” Kyari explained.
He urged citizens to cooperate with government agencies facilitating the process, stating, “It is expected that with the injection of 30,000MT of this important staple into Nigeria’s food balance sheet, it will not only crash the price of rice but also reduce the prices of other food substitutes.”
Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Dr. Mariya Bunkure, highlighted the importance of this effort in enhancing the well-being of Nigerians.
Speaking to journalists, Haruna Sule, Director of Strategic Grains Reserve at the Ministry of Agriculture, noted that civil servants could purchase the rice using their Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) and NIN.
He explained that Nigerians can only access the rice using their NIN.
“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 said.
He added that this code would be used to issue a treasury receipt, confirming payment to the government, along with collection details to prevent overcrowding at distribution points.
