The Federal Government has stated that only buyers with National Identification Numbers will benefit as it begins selling 30,000 metric tons of milled rice to Nigerians at a reduced rate of N40,000 per 50kg bag.
President Bola Tinubu, represented by Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Abubakar Kyari, indicated at Thursday’s flag-off event that the rice intervention will be offered exclusively on a “one person, one bag” basis.
Kyari added that the 50kg bags of rice, priced at ₦40,000, are part of the Federal Government’s initiative to supply discounted milled rice to ease the present 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 the 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 vulnerable and the 30,000MT of milled rice which is being flagged-off for sales to Nigerians today September 5, 2024,” he stated.
Regarding buyer verification, Kyari stated that a multidisciplinary government task team has been formed to assure transparency, broad distribution, and overall success of the effort.
He emphasized that the process is intended to prevent individuals from obtaining more than one 50kg bag of rice, and that beneficiaries will be verified using identification methods such as the NIN and phone numbers to prevent fraudulent individuals from accessing multiple bags at the expense of other citizens.
