FG ₦50,000 Relief: How MTN Subscribers Can Check Eligibility And Receive Payment

The intervention, known as the National Emergency Relief and Stabilisation Intervention (NERSI), was introduced to provide financial support to vulnerable Nigerian households struggling with rising living costs.

The clarification comes amid the circulation of a misleading social media message asking MTN users who have not received the payment or whose eligibility status shows “NOT ELIGIBLE” to send “YES” to an unverified code to secure the money within 24 hours.

In a response to the circulating message on X, MTN Support urged customers to disregard the information, describing it as unrelated to the telecommunications company.

The company stated, “Please be informed that the information shared is not from MTN. Kindly disregard the message and do not click on any unverified links, share personal information, OTPs, PINs, passwords, or make any payments based on such messages.”

Information on the official NERSI portal indicates that beneficiaries are identified through verified National Identity records and the National Social Register.

The Federal Government is using approved payment providers, including MoMo PSB, ALAT by Wema, NairaGram, OPay and Moniepoint, to distribute the financial assistance to selected recipients.

The government has also explained that selected individuals will receive messages from their designated payment providers requesting consent before the funds are transferred to their accounts or mobile wallets.

MTN users who want to confirm their eligibility and access the assistance can follow these steps:

2. Accept the offer: Those officially notified of their selection should follow the instructions in the notification or use the USSD platform to provide the required consent.

3. Respond to MoMo notifications: Beneficiaries who receive a genuine MoMo pop-up requesting acceptance of the financial assistance should follow the prompt and select the appropriate option to confirm their consent.

4. Register for a MoMo wallet: Selected beneficiaries who do not already have a MoMo account can dial *671# or download the official MoMo NG application to create one.

5. Access the payment: Once the ₦50,000 is credited, recipients can withdraw or access the funds through the MoMo application, USSD service or an authorised MoMo agent. Transfers to bank accounts are also available.

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr Bernard Doro, had earlier announced the commencement of the intervention in a statement issued on October 30.

Doro said eligible Nigerians would receive ₦50,000 monthly to support essential expenses and reduce the financial pressure caused by increasing living costs.

He explained that beneficiaries would receive text messages from their designated payment providers requesting consent before the money was transferred.

“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,” the minister stated.

Doro also stressed that Nigerians selected for the programme were not required to submit applications, pay registration fees or engage agents to receive the financial assistance.

The ministry has cautioned Nigerians against sharing sensitive financial information, particularly personal identification numbers, one-time passwords, PINs and Bank Verification Numbers, with unauthorised individuals.

The NERSI portal also states that participation in the intervention is free and that beneficiaries are being contacted in batches.

Meanwhile, a “NOT SELECTED” status does not automatically mean that an individual has been permanently excluded from the intervention, as payments are being made in phases. However, the government has not guaranteed that everyone excluded from the current batch will be selected in subsequent rounds.

For enquiries and complaints, beneficiaries can contact the NERSI helpline on 0700-022-2222 or reach MoMo PSB customer support by dialling 671.