The Federal Government has announced the sale of 50kg bag of rice for N40,000, in order to ameliorate the rising cost of food in the country.
Mohammed Idris, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, who spoke with journalists on Monday, at the Presidential Villa, said 20 trucks of rice have been distributed to each state in the country.
According to Idris, the bags of rice are being sold at designated centres for N40,000 each, which is a 50 percent slash of the market price.
However, the minister did not state the locations where the rice is being sold.
“The president has listened to the voices of all those who are planning this protest. And the message is that there is no need for it”, he said.
“Indeed, the president is already protesting on their behalf by doing those things that they want a government to do. For example, the effort that the government is making in ensuring that food is being made available.
“The last council meeting here at the briefing, we announced that a number of trucks, 20 precisely, had been given to the state governors for onward distribution to those who actually are in need of them to the poorest of the poor in society and those who are actually in need. Food being made available.
“But the government did not stop there, there is also rice that is being sold at about 50 percent of its cost — a bag of rice is being sold as we speak now.
“This rice has been taken to various centres across all the states of the federation and is being sold at N40,000. Centres have been created so that those who need this rice can go there and buy this rice at N40,000.
“In the first instance, about 10 trucks have been made available to each of these states and indeed this is just the beginning. I know that some of the comments you hear are that it is never enough.
“The government has not pretended that these supplies are indeed enough. But these are necessary first steps that are being made, and more of such interventions are being made in the interim”.
The information minister said the prices of food will decline, adding that the federal government has made significant investments in agriculture.
“Of course, this is like I said an interim measure because there is so much investment that is going into the agricultural sector,” he said.
“And the rainy season is here. We expect that the prices of food items will come down as investments are also being made not just for the traditional agricultural produce but also for the irrigation activities in many of these states in the federation.
“So, we expect that as we move forward, prizes of food items and commodities will, of course, come down.”
