The Lagos State Government, on Thursday, commenced the sale of Lake Rice in designated centres as announced for the forthcoming Eid-el-Kabir celebration.
In most of the sale centres visited, residents were seen queuing up and buying the item in orderly manner.
50kg of the rice was sold for N12,000, 25kg for N6,000 and 10kg for N2500.
It was also observed that residents were allowed to buy just one bag each per person.
At the Agricultural Development Authority (ADA) in Agege, one of the designated sale centres, residents were seen buying the item.
Speaking after buying the item, a Vetinary Doctor, Mr Bayo Olufunwa commended the orderly manner with which the sale was handled, saying that it did not take him too long to buy the rice.
“I have been buying this Lake Rice since inception when they started selling it in this area and I find the rice very good, very delicious. In fact it is better than the other rice I am used to.
“As regards the organisation of buying, there was a bit of hiccup initially but the concerned authorities came and did everything needed to be done systematically and people are buying and are going freely,” Olufunwa said.
Another resident who simply identified herself as Mrs. Ojo from Orile Agege, thanked the State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode for the Lake Rice initiative, saying that apart from the fact that the rice is cheap, it is also delicious.
“I just bought the rice and I must commend Governor Ambode. This is evident that the Governor is passionate about the interest and welfare of the people.
“We were treated very well by officials at the sales centre and the process was orderly. When i got there, we were asked to put down our names and they used the list to call us inside where we used our ATM Card to pay after which we were directed to the store to pick the rice with the ticket they have us after payment,” she explained.
Also speaking, another resident, Mrs. Adefemi Bilikis said she was surprised at how fast she was able to buy the item, just as she encouraged others interested to go to any of the sale centres close to them to buy the rice.
While explaining the process, the Agric Extension Officer in charge of Agege Depot, Ajayi Folayemi Musiliu said the State Government has more than enough rice to sell to residents, saying that adequate measures have been put in place to ensure hitch-free sales exercise.
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“Since we started, we have been able to put the crowd under control by asking them to put down their names. We have a hall where we tell them to sit and then we call them in batches of 20 and they will go towards the three POS that we have and they pay with their ATM. No cash, nothing but your ATM.
“Officials of the State Treasury Office (STO) will take in the ATM into the POS and after that, you register and then you are taken to our two stores one for 50kg and the other for 25kg to pick the item.
“With that, we are able to diffuse the crowd trouble and as I am talking to you now, we have attended to over 100 people from that list. It is under control and we are happy about it,” Ajayi said.
He also assured residents that the government had more than enough rice to sell to them.
“Right now, we have five trucks of 50kg and there are 600 bags in a truck which translate to 3000 bags and I still have two other trucks waiting. For the 25kg, it is 1200 bags in one truck and I have done three and that is 3600. In essence, we have more than enough bags to sell to residents,” Ajayi said.