FG starts ₦50,000 monthly cash payments to vulnerable households
- Humanitarian Affairs Minister Bernard Doro said the National Emergency Relief and Stabilisation Intervention has begun paying ₦50,000 monthly to vulnerable households.
- Doro said beneficiaries need not apply, pay fees or use agents, and will get a text message asking for consent before payment.
- He warned Nigerians not to share PINs or BVNs and gave a helpline for anyone unsure about a message.
The Federal Government has begun sending ₦50,000 a month to vulnerable households under a new relief scheme, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction said on Friday.
The minister, Bernard Doro, announced the start of the National Emergency Relief and Stabilisation Intervention (NERSI) in a statement issued in Abuja. He described it as a presidential initiative meant to reach millions of Nigerians who are struggling as food and everyday goods keep getting more expensive.
According to the statement, the money is paid straight into a beneficiary's bank account or mobile wallet. The ministry is working with licensed digital financial service providers to handle the transfers.
How the payments will work
Doro said nobody has to apply, pay a fee or go through an agent to benefit. Instead, a provider will send a text message asking the person to agree before any money is sent.
He said that message is genuine, and asked beneficiaries to give consent so the payment can go through.
The minister also warned about fraudsters. He said people should never give out their PIN or Bank Verification Number (BVN) to anyone, even if the caller claims to be from the programme.
If you are unsure about any message, or anyone asks you for money, call the official NERSI helpline on 0700-022-2222
He said the scheme will be looked at again from time to time as the cost of living changes, and that beneficiaries will be told directly before any adjustment is made.
Doro said NERSI sits alongside the government's other social protection programmes and fits into President Bola Tinubu's Renewed Hope Agenda. The ministry, he said, wants the payments handled with dignity, openness and accountability.
The statement did not say how many people will be paid, how they were selected, or when the first payments went out. It also gave no total budget for the scheme. Further details, it said, are on the ministry's website.
What happens next
Nigerians who get a text about the programme should confirm it is from a licensed provider before responding, and should treat any request for payment, a PIN or a BVN as a red flag. Anyone in doubt can call the NERSI helpline on 0700-022-2222.
