How FG selects phone numbers for N50,000 NERSI grant as Moniepoint, OPay verify payments

The Federal Government, not Moniepoint, OPay or other payment platforms, selects beneficiaries for the National Emergency Relief and Stabilisation Intervention (NERSI) ₦50,000 relief grant. The fintechs only help verify eligibility and deliver payments to approved beneficiaries.

Phone numbers are used to check eligibility. Having an account with a participating institution does not automatically qualify a customer for the grant. Account ownership, transaction history and access to USSD services do not independently establish eligibility for government assistance.

Selection sits with government

Moniepoint Microfinance Bank confirmed that beneficiary selection rests with the Federal Government, while participating financial institutions facilitate verification and payment. Customers can check their status using registered phone numbers, and successful beneficiaries are guided through the acceptance process.

OPay said customers selected for the intervention will see a notification on its application. The company stressed that it does not determine eligibility. The distinction is central: financial institutions deliver the assistance, but government records determine who receives it.

Register and identity records

According to the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, beneficiaries' phone numbers are obtained from the National Social Register and verified national identity records. The ministry says the information is shared with designated payment providers solely to facilitate disbursement, subject to protections under the Nigeria Data Protection Act. Selected recipients must also consent before the ministry processes payment.

This means Nigerians do not need to submit new applications or share sensitive banking credentials with agents promising inclusion. The exact criteria used to compile the NERSI payment list, including whether every recipient was drawn from the National Social Register, require specific official confirmation.

Phased payments and NOT SELECTED status

The Federal Government says the programme covers all six geopolitical zones, but payments are being implemented in phases. Two people living in the same community may receive different eligibility responses. A status reading NOT SELECTED means the person has not been approved for the current payment phase. Subsequent selection remains possible, although the ministry has not guaranteed that every person awaiting notification will eventually receive the grant.

An unsuccessful check does not mean a bank account is defective or that the individual is permanently excluded from future interventions. Discrepancies involving registered phone numbers, identity records and payment information could complicate verification. The programme's specific procedures for resolving such cases have not been fully established publicly.

For Nigerians concerned about exclusion, the central issue is not which payment application they use. It is whether their information appears in the government's approved beneficiary records.