A viral message circulating heavily on social media in April 2026 claims that President Bola Tinubu has approved the immediate disbursement of N50,000 “Economic Relief Funds” to every Nigerian citizen to cushion the impact of current inflation. The message, which often appears in WhatsApp groups, provides a link and instructs users to enter their Bank Verification Number (BVN) and National Identification Number (NIN) to “check eligibility and claim the grant.”
The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation has debunked this claim, describing it as a classic phishing scam intended to harvest sensitive banking information. The Ministry stated that while various social intervention programs are ongoing, there is no “blanket cash grant” currently being distributed through the web link provided in the viral message. The official portal for legitimate government grants is always hosted on a “.gov.ng” domain, whereas the fraudulent link uses a generic “.online” extension.
Cybersecurity experts have warned that providing BVN and NIN on such unofficial platforms exposes citizens to identity theft and unauthorized access to their bank accounts. The scam website mimics the branding of the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA) to appear legitimate, but it contains several red flags, including grammatical errors and a requirement to share the link with 15 WhatsApp groups before the “payment” can be processed.
The government has advised Nigerians to ignore such messages and report the senders. Official palliatives and social welfare schemes are usually announced through national broadcasts, official ministry websites, and state government channels. The Ministry emphasized that the government will never ask for your private banking passwords or security codes to facilitate a grant payment. Citizens who have already entered their details on the suspicious site are urged to contact their banks immediately to secure their accounts and change their security credentials.
