IN SHORT: The government says the anticipated opening of the Renewed Hope Job Creation Programme’s listing portal will be made official, and has warned against scammers.
In October 2023, Nigeria's president Bola Tinubu renamed an initiative aimed at creating jobs for young Nigerians.
N-Power is now known as the Renewed Hope Job Creation Programme.
Social media posts claim that the government has launched a portal to register beneficiaries of the jobs plan.
The headline of an article shared by a Facebook page reads: “Renewed Hope Job Creation Programme (RHJCP) 2023: How to Apply for free.”
The article gives more details on the programme's goals and the country's unemployment challenge.
The message has also been posted here, here, here and here.
But is it authentic? We took a closer look.
No link to registration site
The headline links to a blog article about the job creation programme.
But right at the point where you should be able to apply, the article says that applications are not being taken.
“Currently, applications are not being accepted as the website is under development. Once it’s ready, we will provide you with the website link. Continue to monitor voiceofnigeria.org.ng for updates,” the article says.
None of the links in the article lead to a registration portal, they all loop back to the same article.
This is simply engagement bait, and typical of scams Africa Check has exposed before.
Engagement bait is a tactic used to get users to interact with the post, either by liking, sharing or commenting. This increases the reach of the post and, in this case, page views.
Warning from federal government
On 26 October, N-Power took to Facebook and X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, to warn people not to fall for scams.
“It has come to our notice that lots of fraudulent activities and fake news have been in circulation.
“Please note that we will be the first to notify you on any update with regard to possible recruitment, pending payments and portal related issues. It is sad to see beneficiaries fall victim of these scams,” N-Power wrote.
The programme also issued a statement denying the opening of the portal for the registration of new beneficiaries.
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