IN SHORT: Nigerian families struggling to make ends meet should ignore posts encouraging them to apply for the N185,000 “family support scheme”. There is no such programme from the government and these posts are out to scam the public.
Several posts circulating on social media claim that the Nigerian government is giving out N185,000 (about US$120) to support families.
Part of one post, dated 21 July 2025, reads: “Due to high level of complaints from Nigeria families, *President Bola Ahmed Tinubu* have urge that the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation *Prof. Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda* should open the NATIONAL FAMILY SUPPORT scheme. Every Nigerian is entitled to receive the sum of ₦185,000 for 3 months.”
The posts encourage interested users to apply via the provided link. The same claim was found here, here and here.
Over the years, the Nigerian government has introduced various social initiatives, including the conditional cash transfer, to support vulnerable households. Schemes such as N-Power have targeted unemployed youth to boost family incomes.
But is there a “N185,000 NATIONAL FAMILY SUPPORT ALLOWANCE” from the Nigerian government? We checked.
Signs of scam
First, Africa Check found no credible news reports of any family support scheme by the Nigerian government. If the government had such a programme, the media would’ve widely reported on it so it could reach the intended beneficiaries.
We also searched the official website of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, and found no such programme.
We next clicked on the link attached to the posts and were directed to what appeared to be a registration portal requesting our personal details.
We filled in made-up details and clicked on the “apply now” button. The next page required us to “validate” our banking details.
From there, we were asked to share the link with five groups or 15 friends on WhatsApp.
We noticed several red flags with this “portal” and registration process. First, the website was created using Blogger, a free content management system. It’s highly unlikely that the Nigerian government would use a free tool for a registration portal.
Second, requesting personal and banking details is a tactic often used by scammers for identity theft and fraud.
Third, the Nigerian government maintains a database of poor and vulnerable households through the National Social Register. This way it can identify potential beneficiaries for social programmes.
Furthermore, some of the posts ask users to “SHARE WITH OTHERS LET THEM ALL BENEFIT”, while those who click on the link are asked to share it via WhatsApp. This is an example of engagement bait – social media posts that ask people to interact by liking, commenting or sharing. The more people do this, the greater the reach of the Facebook page and site.
For more tips on avoiding scams on Facebook, read our guide.
For publishers: what to do if your post is rated false
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Click on our guide for the steps you should follow.
Publishers guideAfrica Check teams up with Facebook
Africa Check is a partner in Meta's third-party fact-checking programme to help stop the spread of false information on social media.
The content we rate as “false” will be downgraded on Facebook and Instagram. This means fewer people will see it.
You can also help identify false information on Facebook. This guide explains how.
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