The Federal Government has announced that only buyers with
National Identification Numbers would benefit as it commenced the sale of 30,
000 metric tonnes of milled rice to Nigerians at a subsidised rate of N40,000
per 50kg bag.
President Bola Tinubu, represented by the Minister of
Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, stated during the flag-off
ceremony on Thursday, that the rice intervention will be sold strictly on a
“one person, one bag” basis.
Kyari 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 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 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.
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 the 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,” he said.
Speaking on the process Nigerians would have to follow to
purchase the rice, the Director of Strategic Grains Reserve, Ministry of
Agriculture, Haruna Sule, explained that civil servants can access the grains
at designated points of sale by using their Integrated Payroll and Personnel
Information System details.
“To qualify for the one person one bag, you must have a
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,” he said.
“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 added.
Sule explained that once the buyer provides the code number,
a treasury receipt will be issued as proof of payment to the government, adding
that the buyer will then receive a receipt indicating the collection point and
time.
He 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.”
In July, the Minister of Information, Idris Mohammed,
announced the sale of subsidised rice.
Following this, 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.
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