The federal government has announced the sale of 50 kg bags of rice to citizens across the country at N40,000.
Mohammed Idris, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, disclosed this on Monday after a Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu at the presidential villa in Abuja. He noted that the president has approved the price reduction to ease the citizens’ living conditions.
In his address, the minister said that the initiative by the president was his own way of protesting in the country, urging citizens to shelve the planned protest as he has initiated new steps to help the country.
He established that the government had taken steps to address the demands made by the protest in the country. He noted that the protest’s reasons and demands were currently addressed. The minister also noted that the government has been a listening government since its inauguration.
He further disclosed that the government had distributed 740-grain trucks to states in the country to help increase the price of the product in the market. According to the minister, the bag of the product will be sold at N40,000 in designated areas in different states.
He explained that the government had also given 20 trucks of rice to states to distribute to the country’s poorest. He noted that the state officials had been cautioned to distribute the food commodities to those who really needed them.
The minister also explained that the government, through its analysis, has concluded that the onset of the rains will encourage farming and further lower the price of food products in the country; he also noted that the government has made plans to make huge investments in the practice of irrigational farming in different states.
Speaking on other government efforts, he noted the disbursement of student loans to eligible students across the country; the minister also cited the distribution of CNG kits that will aid the conversion of automobiles as a way of alleviating the suffering of the residents.
Idris explained that the delay in the roll-out of the CNG buses in the country was due to logistic problems. He noted that the purchase of the buses is currently on the way. He disclosed that some of the CNG buses have successfully arrived in the country while converting centres have been established in a few parts of the country.
The Minister of Interior, who spoke separately, noted that the government, which has spent less than two years in office, has done enough to be commended by Nigerians.
The minister argued that the removal of the fuel subsidy was a decisive step by the government to solve the current issues in the energy sector. He noted that the current steps will solve the issues in the long term.
In order to avert the breakdown of law and order, security agencies have deployed their personnel to strategic areas around the country to maintain law. Some citizens have raised concerns about intimidation by the security agencies.
In Abuja, the nation’s capital, major streets have been taken over by the military, with heavy military presence witnessed on the street.
