FROM RAHILA ABDULLAHI, KADUNA
Federal Government had penultimate month sold milled rice to staff of various media organisations in Kaduna at subsidized rate of N40,000 per 50kg bag.
The exercise, according to the Federal Government, was to ameliorate the prevailing food crisis and as well cushion the effects of high cost of food commodities in the country.
The media outlets were allocated 149 bags and every buyer was screened by officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture for the purpose of transparency and accountability.
Aside each media practitioner that bought the rice per bag, civil servants also got their own allocations at their respective offices.
All the buyers accessed the grains from the Point of Sale, POS, with their Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, IPPIS, and National Identity Numbers, NIN.
Speaking on behalf of media organisations in Kaduna, the State NUJ Chairman , Hajiya Asma’u Halilu expressed gratitude to the Federal Government for subsidising the cost of purchasing a bag of rice for Media practitioners in the State.
Halilu noted that “comparing this price to the soaring market price, one has no option than to thank the government for the supply of rice”.
She, however, advised that government to endeavour to make the exercise a continuous one, “so that people who did not get to buy in the initial exercise will get the opportunity to buy”.
The Minister noted that the present challenges are not peculiar to Nigeria alone, adding that the food intervention was timely considering the times and challenges we are in as citizens of this great nation.
He said 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 put in place certain processes and conditions to ensure transparency, wider reach and success of the exercise.
He therefore urged the citizens to cooperate with the relevant agencies of the government to work together to ensure that the dream of the present administration to uphold the fundamental right to food for all Nigerians is achieved.
