People buy vegetables at a food market after Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari called for a lockdown starting tonight to limit the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Lagos, Nigeria March 30, 2020. REUTERS/Temilade Adelaja

People buy vegetables at a food market after Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari called for a lockdown starting tonight to limit the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Lagos, Nigeria March 30, 2020. REUTERS/Temilade Adelaja

The Nigerian government said it is set to deliver up to 70,000 tons of grains from its reserve to cushion the effects of food shortage among other COVID-19 challenges on the country's populace.

The National Strategic Grains Reserve will deliver the food items in the coming days, said minister of agriculture and rural development Sabo Nanono in a statement reaching Xinhua late Friday.

"The bagging of grains is ongoing for further urgent release,” Nanono said, hinting that among the food items in reserve, some 5,000 tons of cassava chips are available for immediate release.

According to the official, the plan to release the grains will go a long way to cushion the effect of the COVID-19 on the Nigerian populace at a time when many states are on lockdown.

The food items, he said, will be released from the six silo complexes across the most populous African country.

Nanono added that measures would be put in place by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 to ensure that the food items got to beneficiaries directly.