Only Nigerians With NIN To Benefit From Sale Of N40000/Bag Rice

The Federal Government has announced that only public employees with properly registered National Identification Numbers (NINs) will be able to purchase 30,000 metric tons of milled rice.

The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, stated this when launching the rice sale in Abuja on Thursday, September 5. According to Kyari, the action is intended to prevent racketeering and is part of attempts to reduce food prices in Nigerian marketplaces.

Kyari, who is represented by President Bola Tinubu, stated that the intervention will only be sold “one man to one bag or one woman to one bag”.

According to him, the 50kg bag of rice will be sold for a fixed price of ₦40,000 naira, which represents the federal government’s intervention in selling discounted milled rice to help alleviate Nigeria’s current food crisis.

“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 42,000MT of Assorted Food Commodities (AFC) to vulnerable and the 30,000MT of milled rice which is being flagged-off for sales to Nigerians today 5th September, 2024.”

The minister cited COVID-19, the Russia-Ukraine war, climate change, and other localized factors/challenges as reasons for the high cost of food.

“This has led to increase 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” he said.

He continued by saying that the federal government has deployed a multidisciplinary government machinery and put in place specific procedures and requirements to ensure the transparency, wider reach, and success of this exercise. The federal government is aware of the potential challenges associated with the sales of an important staple like rice during this crucial period.

“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 said

He urged residents to work with the appropriate authorities to complete the effort.

“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 of 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.”

Haruna Sule Abutu, the ministry’s director of food and strategic reserves, described the method for purchasing subsidised rice.

“To qualify for the one person one bag, you must have 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. 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 center and pick up his bag. The receipt will indicate, time and point of collection to eliminate stampede.” he said.

A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.

Nnamdi Okoli