The Lagos State Government
on Friday said it could not commence the sale of its Lake Rice on December 15
as earlier planned to ensure that plots to hijack the project was averted.
The Special Adviser on Food Security to
Governor Akinwumi Ambode, Mr. Sanni Okanlawan, said that the rice would now be
on sale from next week
The government had planned to sell the
rice at N13,000 per 50kg bag at the 57 Local Government and Local Council
Development area headquarters from Dec. 15.
Okanlawon said the government was
installing mechanisms for Lagosians to celebrate the best Yuletide without
hiccups posed by money bags.
He said, “We are
working out the modalities to make sure that what the government intends to
sell at N13,000 was not hijacked and sold to Lagosians at N15,000, that is what
we do not want.
“From all indications, hopefully, by next week
Lake Rice will be out, so, we want everything to be in place before it is out.”
LASG had on December 8 promised that it was
ready to roll out Lake Rice on December 15 to Lagosians at N13,000 per 50 kg
towards the Yuletide celebrations.
The Special Adviser made the disclosure during
the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry National Agriculture Stakeholders
Summit.
He said, “Lake Rice is the acronym of both
Lagos and Kebbi States joint product which will be out to the public on Dec. 15
at a cost of N13,000 per 50kg bag as it is already subsidised by the
government.
“To make it more available, the rice will be
sold at the 57 LGA’s and LCDA’s for easy accessibility and to guard against
unwanted persons diverting the product, the state has put in place a
committee.”
Lagos State had in March signed an MoU
with the Kebbi State Government to produce rice paddy to be milled and packaged
in Lagos State.
-NAN
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