Nigerians selected for the Federal Government’s ₦50,000 relief programme have been given assurances about the payment process, but questions remain about how their personal information is collected, shared and protected.
The National Emergency Relief and Stabilisation Intervention (NERSI) uses information from the National Social Register and verified national identity records to identify households eligible for financial assistance.
According to the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, selected beneficiaries receive SMS notifications from approved financial service providers, after which they can consent to receiving the grant.
The process involves personal information, including registered phone numbers and identity records, raising questions about the safeguards governing the programme.
Under the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023, organisations handling personal information must comply with requirements concerning lawful processing, transparency, security and the rights of individuals.
However, the ministry’s publicly available NERSI clarification does not provide a comprehensive explanation of every data-sharing arrangement between government agencies and participating financial institutions.
How FG uses NIN and National Social Register records for NERSI
The Federal Government explained that beneficiaries are selected using the National Social Register and verified national identity records.
The ministry said the records are screened against poverty and vulnerability criteria to identify people considered eligible for the financial assistance.
This means the programme does not require every interested Nigerian to submit a fresh application.
Instead, existing information is used to identify potential beneficiaries before approved financial service providers contact them.
According to the ministry, selection is automated and cannot be influenced by government officials, agents or other individuals.
However, the published clarification does not explain in detail which categories of personal information are transferred to each payment provider.
It also does not specify how long the providers may retain information obtained through the programme.
These details matter because information collected for social assistance can include sensitive circumstances relating to individuals and their households.
What Nigeria’s Data Protection Act says about personal information
The Nigeria Data Protection Act, signed into law in June 2023, establishes requirements for organisations processing personal information.
The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), which implements the law, identifies several principles governing the handling of personal data.
These include lawfulness, fairness, transparency, data minimisation, accuracy, security and storage limitation.
In practical terms, organisations should collect and use personal information for legitimate purposes and take appropriate steps to protect it against unauthorised access.
The law also recognises rights relating to access, correction and other forms of control over personal information, subject to applicable legal conditions.
According to the NDPC, individuals may have rights to information about how their data is processed and to challenge certain uses of that information.
The commission also provides channels through which individuals can raise data protection concerns.
Does accepting the ₦50,000 mean surrendering your data rights?
The ministry explained that selected NERSI beneficiaries must provide consent before receiving the financial assistance.
Recipients may be instructed to reply YES to an official SMS or use their payment provider’s designated USSD service.
However, consent to receive a grant should not automatically be confused with unrestricted permission to use personal information for unrelated purposes.
Nigeria’s data protection framework requires organisations to identify an appropriate lawful basis for processing personal information.
Consent is one possible basis, but it is not the only one recognised under the law.
Public authorities may also process certain information where another lawful basis applies.
The ministry’s published NERSI guidance does not fully explain which legal bases apply to the different stages of beneficiary identification, verification and payment.
Consequently, the precise relationship between payment acceptance and data-processing consent remains an issue on which additional public clarification would be useful.
SERAP raises concerns about NERSI beneficiary data
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has called on the Federal Government to disclose more information about the administration of the relief programme.
In a Freedom of Information request dated November 7, 2026, SERAP asked the ministry to explain how beneficiary records are used and protected.
The organisation also sought information about agreements with participating financial service providers and safeguards against improper access to beneficiary databases.
SERAP argued that the government should publish aggregated and anonymised information to support public scrutiny without unnecessarily exposing recipients’ identities.
The request reflects a broader concern about balancing transparency in government spending with the privacy rights of people receiving social assistance.
Public accountability does not necessarily require publishing beneficiaries’ NINs, phone numbers or other sensitive personal details.
How Nigerians can protect their NERSI payment information
The ministry has warned beneficiaries against sharing confidential banking information with individuals claiming to represent the programme.
According to the official guidelines, legitimate payment notifications will come from authorised financial service providers.
The approved providers are ALAT by Wema Bank, MoMo PSB, NairaGram, OPay and Moniepoint.
The ministry stressed that beneficiaries should never disclose their PINs, Bank Verification Numbers or One-Time Passwords to callers or agents.
It also warned against suspicious registration links and individuals demanding money to facilitate payment.
Nigerians concerned about the handling of their personal information may seek clarification from their payment providers or the relevant data controller.
They can also consult the Nigeria Data Protection Commission for information about their rights.
For NERSI-related enquiries, the ministry lists 0700-022-2222 as the official helpline.
The central issue is not whether identity verification is necessary for government financial assistance, but whether the programme’s data-processing arrangements are sufficiently transparent and secure.
Further disclosure about the information shared, retention periods and applicable safeguards would help beneficiaries understand how their records are being handled.