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1.2m tons of LAKE rice being sold since Dec 2018, says Lagos

By Femi Ibirogba
31 January 2019   |   4:02 am
The Lagos State government has delivered 1,191,025 kilogrammes, approximately 1.2 million metric tonnes, of LAKE brand of rice to the Lagos metropolis since December 2018.

The Lagos State government has delivered 1,191,025 kilogrammes, approximately 1.2 million metric tonnes, of LAKE brand of rice to the Lagos metropolis since December 2018.

Giving the breakdown to The Guardian, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Olayiwole Onasanya, said 20,221 bags of 5okg; 2,399 bags of 25kg; and 12,000 bags of 10kg of LAKE Rice had been delivered to the state.

From December 2018 to March 2019, the Kebbi State government is expected to deliver a total of 50,000 bags of 50kg rice; 20,000 bags of 25kg; and 42,000 bags of 10kg of the rice, totaling about 3.04 million metric tonnes of rice.

Explaining how the rice is distributed, the permanent secretary said during the festive periods, the Lagos governments sells directly to the consumers and to distributors to ensure adequate circulation, at the same prices of N12,000 per 50kg-bag; N6,000 per 25kg-bag and N2,500 per 10kg-bag.

After festive periods, the state sells the brand of rice through designated distributors.

The deliveries from Kebbi State are taken at three designated centres. The centres, he listed, are Lagos State Agric Development Authority, Agege; Lagos State Agric Input Supply Authority (LAISA), Ojo and Rice for Jobs, Idena.

Onasanya said between 10 and 14 truckloads of rice are received weekly, and those saying the rice is not available are probably not well informed of the mode of operations.

The Guardian was conducted around the stores, where bags of rice were stockpiled for major distributors to off-take.

Also, a truckload of LAKE Rice was about to be off-loaded at the Agege centre when The Guardian got there on Monday. The centre is coordinated by the Head, Field Activities of the ministry, Mr Musiliu Ajani, who said he was busy selling rice and could not go home for one week during the Christmas period.

Onasanya reiterated the commitment of the state government to making the product available to Lagos residents, adding that the claim that the brand is not available is false.

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