…Palliative Can’t Make Any Significant Impact — Muda Yusuf
…Federal Lawmakers Await FG’s Rice — Senator
An investigation by THE WHISTLER has shown that the Federal Government’s much-touted rice palliative programme, aimed at alleviating the hardship faced by Nigeria’s most vulnerable citizens, may be falling drastically short of its intended impact.
The programme, estimated to cost the government over N42.5bn, is to benefit a mere 0.44 per cent of Nigeria’s population of over 216.8 million people, according to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) population figure.
NewsNGR’s investigation comes on the heels of recent announcements by government officials, including the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, who in July 2024 declared that 20 trucks of rice, each carrying 1,200 bags, had been distributed to the 36 state governments and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The initial distribution was later expanded to include a total of 740 trucks, amounting to 888,000 bags of rice, after minister’s were allocated 1,200 bags of rice each to distribute to vulnerable persons in their constituencies.
Confirming this, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, revealed on Monday that each of the 47 ministers in President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet received an allocation of 1,200 bags of rice.
The ministerial allocation accounts for an additional 56,400 bags, bringing the total distribution to 944,400 bags of 25kg rice.
The scale of the distribution becomes even more worrisome when considering the financial implications.
At an estimated cost of N45,000 per 25kg bag, the government’s expenditure on this initiative alone amounts to about N42.5bn. The figure does not include possible allocations to federal lawmakers, comprising 109 Senators and 360 House of Representatives members, which could significantly inflate the total cost.
When contacted by THE WHISTLER on Tuesday, one of the Senators said federal lawmakers were still awaiting rice for onward distribution to their constituents. According to the Senator, the lawmakers’ recent recess may have delayed the rice allocation.
THE WHISTLER’s analysis reveals that the total number of beneficiaries from the 944,400 bags of rice represents a mere 0.44 per cent of Nigeria’s population.
The statistic becomes alarming when juxtaposed against the country’s poverty rates. According to the 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), an estimated 133 million Nigerians, or 63 per cent of the population, are classified as multidimensionally poor, experiencing deprivations across multiple indicators.
The government’s approach to distributing the rice palliatives has also raised concerns. In some locations, such as the Federal Capital Territory, rice from the government is being sold at a discounted rate of N40,000 for a 50kg bag.
However, to access this subsidized rate, beneficiaries must present their National Identification Number (NIN) — a requirement that could exclude many citizens who may not possess the NIN.
Dr. Muda Yusuf, CEO of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprises (CPPE), offered insights into the limitations of this approach.
In an exclusive interview with THE WHISTLER, Yusuf described the palliative approach as a “drop” in the ocean of solutions needed to address food prices.
According to him, while the initiative may have symbolic value and benefit some individuals, its impact is far from significant or inclusive.
“The rice distribution, when compared to the current population, cannot go a long way. it is not significant, and it can’t make any significant impact, however, symbolically it is good, and some people will benefit
“For the few beneficiaries, it will have an impact and some value. I don’t want to dismiss it completely, because it’s not possible to buy rice for everybody.
“I wouldn’t say they are throwing money into the air as long as some people are getting it. All I can say is that this is clearly not inclusive because there are so many people that would be left behind. We have many illiterate people all over the place. We have people in villages. How will they travel to the city, to the warehouse?” he queried.
The CPPE CEO recommended a more systemic, policy-driven approach to bring down prices of food and other items across the country.
He pointed to other measures incorporated in the country’s economic stabilisation plan, such as granting import and Value Added Tax waivers for rice processors. These measures, he argued, could create an environment for the wider availability and affordability of rice across the country.
He suggested, “The 180 days window for rice producers will not be distributed through this palliative approach but will feed directly into the market channels and we expect it to be cheaper because of the incentive that has been given.
“The policy of this duty waiver for importation of rice paddy is limited only to those who have rice plantations, and those who have rice milling machines, and you must be between the medium to large scale player in that sector.
“So it is those who are in the sector that are the primary beneficiaries of it.
“The only argument that people complain about is that the smaller players in the sector may not have access, because they said they must have a rice milling plant of about 100 tonnes per annum. That’s a guideline which excludes the small player.
“So, those who are in that sector are protected. But You cannot come from outside the sector and take advantage of the farm, you must be a player, you must have a rice farm, and you must have rice milling machines”.
He added, “Currently many of the 180 days waiver applicants are still carrying one document around. The speed of implementation is slow, bureaucracy, amongst others. This is part of the delay affecting price fall in rice currently and delivery of results. Implementation speed is one of the major problems we have currently.”
He urged the federal government to remove all the barriers to speed up implementation of the policies, and provide a diagnostic study of the flow between policy pronouncement and the delivery of results.
Yusuf further advocated for addressing other underlying issues such as insecurity and the accessibility and affordability of farm inputs.
“If insecurity is tackled, the problem of food crisis would be addressed,” Yusuf asserted, adding that timely access to inputs like fertilizer is key for farmers.