The Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms Abisola Olusanya, disclosed this to newsmen in Lagos on Monday.

She noted that about 100,000 bags of 50 kg were being expected for sales at N20,000 per bag.

Olusanya said the state government was working very hard with the Kebbi Government and the Federal Government to ensure that people of Lagos have enough rice during the festive season.

“We are intervening in the area of availability of rice for the festive season, and it will be sold at N20,000 per bag.

“The most important thing is that we have rice available, be it Lake Rice or other brands,” she said.

Olusanya said that the delay in the sale was due to the process of production.

“During the festive season, millets have to be polished, mill, and processed before rice will be available.

“It’s not that rice is not available in the market, but the price points are a bit high.

“The intervention of the Lagos State Government under the leadership of Mr Babjide Sanwo-Olu, in collaboration with the Federal Government, through CBN and the Governor of Kebbi, is to ensure that we have rice available at lower price points.

“Don’t forget that they are in the harvest season now for paddy, so this is the best time to get good quality rice.

“The rice has started arriving as at last week, and we are expecting much more in the next couple of days,” the commissioner said

Sanwo-Olu, who congratulated and wished the new Commissioner a successful tenure in office, first appointed Ms. Olusanya into the State Executive Council on the 20th of August, 2019, as the Special Adviser on Agriculture.

He later appointed her as the Acting Commissioner for Agriculture on 8th June 2020, upon the resignation and subsequent coronation of the erstwhile Commissioner for Agriculture, HRM Oba Omogbolahan Abdulwasiu Lawal, Abisogun II as the 15th Oniru of Iru Kingdom.

Ms. Olusanya is a tenacious and a result-oriented professional with 10 years of experience in leadership roles spanning sales, marketing and supply chain management with a speciality in executing strategies towards food security, SME inclusion, growth and profitability.

She is a leader with a participatory management style and proficiency in establishing and managing an entire operation with a key focus on sustainable organisational culture in line with global management practices.