Nigerians React As Federal Government Crashes Bag of Rice Prices

Centers that would serve as the marketplace for 50kg bag of rice at N40,000 have been introduced across the nation by the Nigerian Federal Government. This initiative was announced by Mohammed Idris, Minister of Information and National Orientation after a Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu at State House, Abuja.

740 trucks of grains were spread out to different states in order to minimize food shortages according to Idris. He cited efforts made towards reaching the most vulnerable persons: “For example, at the last Council meeting, we announced that 20 trucks had been given to each state governor for onward distribution to those who actually needed them, to the poorest of the poor in society. But since then government has not stopped. Also currently a bag of rice is being sold at about 50% cost price; Rice is being sold as we speak.”

To all states several dozens of these bags were distributed at a price of N40,000 per bag. According to Idris: “These centers are available so that anyone who needs this rice can go there and buy it for as low as N40,000 from any one place where it is found. And here too about ten first-allocation loads are given to every one of these states; this is only just beginning.”

He added that these initial supplies could not be regarded as sufficient to cater for the demand but they serve as a critical way forward in food security: “I know, people say it’s never enough. These supplies are not intended by the government to be enough. However, this is just an initial step and much more of such initiatives are being attempted on an interim basis.”

There has been mixed public reaction; the test of Nigerians have expressed respite due to reduced prices, which they appreciated as a necessary intervention during tough economic times while some others doubt if it is enough or sustainable. Various social media platforms have been abuzz with conversations and many others calling for transparency in rice distribution so that it reaches the rightful recipients.

The local community leaders too had something to add urging for continuity and expansion of such programs by government. They emphasized that continuous assistance was vital for addressing food insecurities holistically. Others proposed additional measures like increased local production of rice and supporting farmers as ways of ensuring future stableness in food supply and pricing.

In all, the moves by the Federal Government to crash of price rice has widely been described as welcome albeit an initial step towards making food costs more bearable for Nigerians. One of the prosaic parts is that these have been drawn from ongoing public discussions but it does reflect a mixture of hopeful tentativeness and further calls to alleviate food security challenges in the country at large.