FG begins N50,000 cash relief payments to vulnerable Nigerians

The Federal Government has commenced the disbursement of ₦50,000 cash assistance to eligible vulnerable Nigerians under its National Emergency Relief and Stabilisation Intervention (NERSI).

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr Bernard Doro, announced the commencement of the programme in a statement issued on October 30, describing it as a presidential initiative aimed at providing immediate financial support to vulnerable households.

Doro said the intervention was introduced to cushion the impact of rising food prices and the increasing cost of essential goods on Nigerian households.

According to the minister, eligible beneficiaries are expected to receive ₦50,000 under the programme, with payments delivered directly through approved digital financial service providers.

“Under this intervention, eligible beneficiaries will receive ₦50,000 monthly, providing direct assistance to help meet essential needs and ease the burden of living costs,” he said.

He explained that the intervention would be reviewed periodically in response to changes in the cost of living, adding that beneficiaries would be notified before any adjustments were made.

The minister said the Federal Government was working with licensed digital financial service providers to ensure the secure and transparent delivery of the funds.

He added that selected beneficiaries would receive text messages from approved providers requesting their consent before payments were credited to their accounts or mobile wallets.

“Beneficiaries will receive an SMS from one of these providers asking for their consent. This message is genuine. Once consent is given, payment is made directly to the beneficiary’s account/mobile wallet,” he stated.

The payment providers identified on the programme’s official website include ALAT by Wema Bank, MoMo PSB, NairaGram, OPay, Moniepoint and Xpress Payments.

Meanwhile, the Youth Economic Intervention and De-radicalisation Programme (YEIDEP), in a Facebook post on Tuesday, said payments under NERSI were ongoing, with selected beneficiaries receiving notifications through their registered phone numbers.

The programme also advised people who had not received text messages but whose eligibility status showed “NOT SELECTED” to remain patient and await further updates on subsequent payment batches.

“Those who have not received an SMS but checked their status and saw ‘NOT SELECTED’ should remain patient and wait for the next batch,” the post stated.

However, the message did not guarantee that everyone whose status showed “NOT SELECTED” would eventually be selected in another batch.

Doro stressed that beneficiaries were not required to submit applications, pay fees or register through agents to access the intervention.

He warned Nigerians to be cautious of fraudsters who might attempt to exploit the programme, advising them never to disclose their personal identification numbers, one-time passwords or other banking security details.

“If you are unsure about any message, or anyone asks you for money, call the official NERSI helpline on 0700-022-2222,” the minister said.

The Federal Government has also published programme information and beneficiary guidance on the official NERSI website.

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