The Federal Government has explained how Nigerians will be selected for the next batch of its ₦50,000 relief payment under the National Emergency Relief and Stabilisation Intervention (NERSI), as the programme reaches poor and vulnerable households in phases.
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The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction said beneficiaries are drawn from the National Social Register and verified national identity records. Selection is based on poverty and vulnerability criteria, not applications submitted by individuals.
The intervention supports households facing rising living costs. Each selected beneficiary receives ₦50,000 as a grant, not a loan, and the money does not have to be repaid.
How payments are made
Payments are processed through five approved providers: ALAT by Wema Bank, MoMo Payment Service Bank (PSB), NairaGram, OPay and Moniepoint.
Selected beneficiaries receive a text message from their designated provider. The phone number used for the notification comes from the records used during selection. Recipients must follow the message instructions and give consent before the money is credited to a mobile wallet.
The ministry said beneficiaries’ details are shared only with their payment provider to make the payment. The process does not require a smartphone or internet access, as recipients can use the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) code supplied by their provider.
Not everyone will receive the money at the same time. The programme supports a limited number of households in each phase, with payments made in batches across the six geopolitical zones. Therefore, not receiving a message immediately does not mean a household has been permanently excluded.
How to be selected
There is no public application form or registration exercise for NERSI. Beneficiaries are selected from the National Social Register and verified national identity records, using poverty and vulnerability criteria. Nigerians cannot pay an agent or official to add their names or influence the process. Those selected receive an SMS from one of the five approved providers. The government advises recipients not to share their personal identification number (PIN), one-time password (OTP) or Bank Verification Number (BVN), or pay anyone to release the grant. For enquiries, beneficiaries can call the official NERSI helpline.
