FG commences N50,000 cash relief payments to vulnerable Nigerians

The minister stated that the Federal Government was collaborating with approved digital financial services providers to ensure the safe transfer of the cash.

He further said that selected recipients will be sent text messages by the approved providers asking for their permission before sending the money to their bank 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.