Lagos Lawmakers Expect Rice to Sell Below N20,000 December

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Members of the Lagos State House of Assembly have expressed optimism that the price of a 50kg bag of rice should sell below N20,000 by December 2020.

Chairman of the Lagos State House Committee on Agriculture, Mr Kehinde Joseph, during an inspection of the Imota Rice Mill being constructed in the state, said the facility should do the magic.

He, therefore, urged the contractors handling the project to hasten work in order to meet the December 2020 completion timeline.

The lawmaker explained he and his colleagues in the committee decided to embark on the inspection tour on Thursday to ensure that the percentage of work done so far was commensurate with the money already released by the state government.

“We have gone round to see how far they have gone in respect of the rice mill in Imota. We are here to see the percentage of work done so far if it commensurate with the percentage of the money released to them by the government. We are being told that hopefully by December, this Mill will start functioning,” he said.

Speaking further, he said, “About two or three months ago, the Acting Commissioner for Agriculture told us when she visited this place that the percentage of work done so far was 80 per cent or 85 per cent and with the level of the money that has been released to them, I believe they should be able to finish the job before the end of the year.

“That is why I want to call on the contractors to hasten the job because, by the time the Rice Mill starts functioning, hopefully by December, it is going to collapse the price of local rice, especially in Nigeria.”

Mr Joseph commended the leadership of the Ministry of Agriculture for a great job done so far on the project, adding that the creation of over 250,000 jobs which will come with the completion of the project will reduce the high unemployment rate in the state.

“I want to use this opportunity to commend the Acting Commissioner and her team, they have done a very good job. She told us during the inspection that this mill is going to generate more than 250,000 job opportunities when completed, that alone is something laudable which we are all looking forward to”, he added.