…Only Nigerians on IPPIS with NIN numbers will buy
The Federal Government, on Thursday, flagged off the sale of 30,000 metric tonnes of milled rice to public servants as part of strategies to crash food prices in Nigeria.
President Bola Tinubu, represented by Abubakar Kyari, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, at the event, said the commodity would be sold strictly ‘One Man to One Bag or One Woman to One Bag’.
He said the rice which is to be sold at a flat rate of N40,000 naira per 50kg bag, said the intervention was to ameliorate the prevailing food crisis in the country.
According to Abubakar Kyari, “This food intervention can be said to be timely considering the times and challenges we are in as citizens of this great nation.
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“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.”
The minister, who described the event as historic, said, “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 localised factors/challenges, food prices, farm yields, food chains, were distorted globally and Nigeria is not an exception.”
“This has led to increased concern and risk of food insecurity and a 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 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 as put in place certain processes and conditions to ensure 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 further implored citizens to cooperate with the relevant citizens 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 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.”
He further called on Nigerians to remain steadfast and be patient with Mr. President as his efforts towards enhancing food security would pay off soon.
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In his remarks, Haruna Sule Abutu, director of food and strategic reserve of the ministry, said the procedure for acquiring the rice was simple, and they have decided to present the product transparently.
“To qualify to earn one person one bag, you must have a National Identification Number (NIN) 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, the beneficiary’s information is logged, after which 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/her bag. The receipt will indicate the time and point of collection to eliminate stampede” he said.
