By Francis Ogwo
Lagos State in collaboration with Kebbi State Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria has revealed plans to sell rice to thousands of Lagosians at cheaper prices before Christmas.
This was disclosed by the Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms Abisola Olusanya, during a chat with the media on Monday in Lagos.
According to the Commisisoner, 100,000 50 kg bags of rice would be sold at N20,000 per bag.
The Commisisoner noted that efforts are being made by the Lagos State Government, their Kebbi state counterpart and the Federal Government to ensure that Lagosians have enough rice during the festive season, noting that the production processes is responsible for the delays in the sales.
Olusanya said: “We are intervening in the area of availability of rice for the festive season, and it will be sold at N20,000 per bag. The most important thing is that we have rice available, be it Lake Rice or other brands.’’
“During the festive season, millets have to be polished, mill and processed before rice will be available. It’s not that rice is not available in the market, but the price points are a bit high. The intervention of the Lagos State Government under the leadership of Mr Babjide Sanwo-Olu, in collaboration with the Federal Government, through CBN and the Governor of Kebbi, is to ensure that we have rice available at lower price points.’’
“Don’t forget that they are in the harvest season now for paddy, so this is the best time to get good quality rice. The rice has started arriving as at last week, and we are expecting much more in the next couple of days,” she said.
Recall that four years ago, Lagos State Government in collaboration with the Kebbi state government launched the Lagos-Kebbi rice, which went popular as LAKE Rice, which according to government sources was to boost the governments production ability as against importation.
Reports revealed further that the rice has been adjudged safe for consumption and would be sold at highly subsidized rates.
