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The Federal Government has explained how poor and vulnerable Nigerian households selected for its National Emergency Relief and Stabilisation Intervention (NERSI) can access the ₦50,000 cash grant.
The programme, implemented by the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, is aimed at helping vulnerable households cope with rising living costs through direct cash transfers to mobile wallets.
According to the programme guidelines, payments will be made through designated providers, including ALAT, MoMo, NairaGram, OPay and Moniepoint.
The government said beneficiaries would be selected using verified national identity records and the National Social Register, stressing that individuals cannot apply independently or pay to be included on the list.
Selected beneficiaries will first receive an SMS from one of the designated payment providers notifying them of their selection.
Recipients are required to reply “YES” to confirm their participation, as the government said no payment would be made without the beneficiary’s consent.
After confirmation, a mobile wallet will be created and linked to the beneficiary’s phone number and National Identification Number (NIN).
The ₦50,000 grant will then be credited to the wallet, from where beneficiaries can withdraw the funds through a Point of Sale (POS) agent or bank, or spend the money directly from the wallet.
The government said beneficiaries would receive further SMS instructions from their respective payment providers after their wallets are credited.
It provided the following USSD options for withdrawals: ALAT beneficiaries can dial 94523#, MoMo PSB users *6710#, NairaGram users *72600#, while OPay beneficiaries can dial *95520# or use the mobile application. Moniepoint users can dial *557327# or use the app.
The government stressed that the grant is free and warned Nigerians against fraudsters who may demand money or sensitive banking information in exchange for access to the funds.
It said genuine messages would only come from ALAT, MoMo, NairaGram, OPay or Moniepoint and would only require beneficiaries to reply “YES” or use the designated USSD code.
According to the guidelines, genuine messages will not request payment, a Personal Identification Number (PIN), One-Time Password (OTP), password or require recipients to click on a link.
Beneficiaries were urged not to disclose their PINs, OTPs or passwords to anyone, including agents or persons claiming to be government officials.
The government also advised recipients to disregard messages from unauthorised senders and contact the programme’s helpline if they are uncertain about the authenticity of any notification.
It clarified that NERSI is a Federal Government relief programme designed to support Nigerian households facing rising living costs and that the ₦50,000 payment is a grant, not a loan.
The government said the full amount would be credited to each selected beneficiary without deductions and would not have to be repaid.
It further explained that beneficiaries’ phone numbers were obtained from the National Social Register and verified national identity records and shared with the relevant payment providers solely for disbursement purposes.
The government said personal information obtained for the programme would be used only for the purposes of implementing the intervention.
