A post has been making the round on WhatsApp suggesting that the Federal Government is giving out the sum of N25,000 to Nigerians.
The message partly reads, “Federal Government 15 million household cash transfer program is ongoing.”
It further stated that N25,000 has been approved for three months to 15 million households. A link was attached to the message and it ended by asking receivers to share with others.
Verification
In a bid to verify the authenticity of this message, the fact-checkers at Daily Trust noticed it has many grammatical errors and the link was unsafe.
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Further investigation revealed that the message is not from the federal government.
Jamaldeen Kabir, the National Communications Manager at the National Social Investment Programmes Agency (NSIPA), told our correspondent that the federal government was not responsible for any online application for the renewed hope funds transfer.
“The federal government only recognizes the National Social Register and the Rapid Response Register which contains the information of vulnerable and poor Nigerians across the country.
“This register is in the hands of each state’s planning ministry and they liaise with traditional rulers to get lists of the poor members of the community,” he added.
Jamaldeen also noted there was no form to fill out or any link to follow for the application to get the funds from the government.
“The World Bank and the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian only recognize information on the National Social Register and that is the list used to distribute the renewed hope funds,” he said.
Conclusion
Daily Trust can confirm that the federal government is not responsible for the message and the link circulating on WhatsApp, asking Nigerians to apply online for funds from the government. The message is false and misleading.
This fact check is produced in collaboration with the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD)
