The Federal Government has started distributing ₦50,000 cash assistance to vulnerable Nigerians under its National Emergency Relief and Stabilisation Intervention (NERSI).
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr Bernard Doro, disclosed this in a statement dated October 30 and sighted Online on Tuesday, describing the initiative as a presidential intervention aimed at providing immediate financial support to vulnerable households.
According to Doro, the programme is designed to reduce the financial pressure on households arising from rising food prices and the increasing cost of essential commodities.
“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.
The minister explained that the intervention would undergo periodic reviews based on prevailing living costs, adding that beneficiaries would be informed ahead of any changes.
He noted that the ministry had partnered with licensed digital financial service providers to guarantee secure and transparent payment processes.
“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 approved payment providers and their respective USSD codes include ALAT by Wema (94523#), MoMo PSB (6710#), NairaGram (72600#), OPay (95520#) and Moniepoint (557327#).
Meanwhile, the Youth Economic Intervention and De-radicalisation Programme (YEIDEP), in a Facebook update on Tuesday, confirmed that payments under NERSI were underway, with beneficiaries receiving notifications through their registered phone numbers.
The programme also urged applicants who had not received SMS notifications but found their eligibility status displayed as “NOT SELECTED” to exercise patience while awaiting the next payment batch.
“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 update did not confirm that everyone currently marked “NOT SELECTED” would automatically qualify for payment in a subsequent batch.
Doro further clarified that beneficiaries were not expected to submit fresh applications, pay any charges or register through intermediaries to access the financial support.
He cautioned Nigerians against fraudsters and advised them not to disclose their Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) or Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs) to anyone.
“If you are unsure about any message, or anyone asks you for money, call the official NERSI helpline on 0700-022-2222,” he said.
