Nigeria's federal government has moved its ₦50,000 emergency relief onto fintech rails. The National Emergency Relief and Stabilisation Intervention (NERSI), run by the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, pays selected households straight into mobile wallets operated by five licensed providers: ALAT by Wema Bank, MoMo Payment Service Bank, NairaGram, OPay and Moniepoint.
Minister Bernard Doro announced the start of payments in a statement on 30 October, describing NERSI as a shock-responsive cash transfer for households facing rising living costs, Legit.ng reported. BusinessDay reported on Wednesday that the government's aim is to cut out the layers of intermediaries that traditional cash handouts can involve and reduce leakage.
How the money moves
There is no application. Beneficiaries are picked from the National Social Register and checked against verified national identity records. A selected person gets an SMS from one of the five providers, replies YES or dials the provider's code to consent, and a wallet linked to their phone number and National Identification Number opens with the ₦50,000 in it. Nothing is paid without that consent, according to the programme site.
- ALAT by Wema: *945*23#
- MoMo PSB: *671*0# or the MoMo NG app
- NairaGram: *726*00#
- OPay: *955*20# or the OPay app
- Moniepoint: *5573*27# or the Moniepoint app
The codes work on a basic phone without data. Recipients can cash out at a POS agent by sending money from the wallet to the agent, transfer it to any bank account, or spend it from the wallet, and they can withdraw part and keep the rest. Receiving the payment is free, though the ministry warns that POS agents may charge their usual withdrawal fee. Payments go out in phases and not every eligible household is in the first group; anyone can dial a provider's code and choose Check eligibility.
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A free government payment announced by SMS is an obvious target for fraudsters, and the ministry's guidance is blunt. Genuine messages come only from the five providers' official sender names, ask only for a YES reply or a USSD code, and never contain a link. No provider, agent or official will ask for a PIN, OTP or BVN, nobody can add a person to the list for a fee, and WhatsApp chain messages promising ₦50,000 are fake. The programme helpline is 0700-022-2222. Nigerian bank customers have already been hit this year by lookalike sites pushed through text messages.
The government has not said how many households are covered or what the programme costs, and BusinessDay noted that its success will depend on reaching the right households, paying without deductions and resolving failed or disputed transfers. The ministry says the scheme will be reviewed as living costs change.
