The Federal Government has warned Nigerians against paying agents to secure access to its monthly ₦50,000 cash support, as it unveiled five digital payment platforms through which selected vulnerable households can receive the intervention.
The government said beneficiaries of the National Emergency Relief and Stabilisation Intervention (NERSI) would not be required to pay any fee, undertake separate registration or visit government offices to access the funds.
The approved payment channels are ALAT by Wema Bank, MoMo PSB, NairaGram, OPay and Moniepoint, according to guidelines published on the programme’s website.
The intervention is targeted at poor and vulnerable households identified through verified national identity records and the National Social Register.
Under the payment arrangement, selected beneficiaries will receive text notifications from their designated payment providers, detailing their selection and the steps required to access the funds.
Recipients are expected to reply “YES” to confirm their consent, after which a mobile wallet linked to their phone numbers and National Identification Numbers will be created and credited with the ₦50,000 support.
The government said the funds could be withdrawn through point-of-sale agents and banks or used directly from the mobile wallets to make payments.
Beneficiaries can also access the platforms through their mobile applications or designated USSD codes.
The access codes are 94523# for ALAT by Wema Bank, 6710# for MoMo PSB, 72600# for NairaGram, 95520# for OPay and 557327# for Moniepoint.
The Federal Government further cautioned beneficiaries against sharing their Personal Identification Numbers, one-time passwords and account passwords with anyone, including payment agents and government officials.
It said genuine notifications would only come from the five approved payment providers, adding that beneficiaries would be required to respond “YES” or use the designated USSD code provided by their platform.
The guidelines also clarified that not all eligible households would be captured in the initial batch of the intervention, stressing that payment could not guarantee inclusion in the beneficiaries’ list.
The cash support forms part of the Federal Government’s Humanitarian Assistance Programme, a shock-responsive intervention administered by the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction to provide financial relief to vulnerable households grappling with rising living costs.
