The Federal Government has explained how beneficiaries are selected for its N50,000 cash relief under the National Emergency Relief and Stabilisation Intervention (NERSI), as payments continue across the country.
According to the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction’s NERSI website, recipients are chosen from verified national identity records and the National Social Register, with screening focused on poor and vulnerable households.
The National Identification Number, issued by the National Identity Management Commission, is used to verify beneficiaries’ identities and is linked to the mobile wallets through which the grants are paid.
The National Social Register, coordinated by the National Social Safety-Nets Coordinating Office, contains information on more than 70 million individuals. Its registration process involves identifying poor communities, working with local leaders to identify vulnerable households and assessing them digitally using poverty indicators.
Households ranked within the bottom six deciles may qualify for the National Beneficiary Register, which supports programmes such as cash transfers. NERSI says enrolment with both NIMC and the National Social Register is required to qualify for the N50,000 relief.
The government stressed that Nigerians cannot apply or pay to be included in the beneficiary list. Selection is based on need, covers all six geopolitical zones and is not influenced by religion, ethnicity or political affiliation. Payments are being made in phases, so recipients may not be contacted at the same time.
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr Bernard Doro, announced the commencement of disbursement on October 30. Nigerians can check their selection status through approved providers using these USSD codes: ALAT by Wema (94523#), MoMo PSB (6710#), NairaGram (72600#), OPay (95520#) and Moniepoint (557327#).
