Thousands of Nigerians are being scammed into paying N300 to individual accounts with the hope of getting enlisted for the federal government’s palliatives for 15 million households.

Daily Trust investigation was privy to over 9,000 names captured in excel sheets as those who have paid N300 each to a group of Nigerians who claimed to be officials of a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) called “Honeycomb Foundation” and assigned by the Nigerian government to collect the data of beneficiaries.

The group has created at least three WhatsApp accounts which invite individuals to join a group titled, ‘GOVT. PALLIATIVE GROUP,’ assuring them that they would be captured among beneficiaries of the federal government’s palliative.

This reporter found each of the three groups had been filled to the maximum WhatsApp capacity of 1,022 members. Each member is then asked to pay N300 into an individual Access Bank account belonging to one Ezeasor Andrew Chukwudi before their names are enlisted.

Checks by this newspaper revealed that Ezeasor Andrew Chukwudi who receives the funds is in charge of capturing and data collection. He is also the CEO of Anchez Ventures Limited which, according to the Cooperate Affairs Commission, was incorporated in Lagos Island, Nigeria with registration number 421338 and its current status is unknown. His ‘business partner’ Alhaji Engr Abubakar A. Khalid is said to be the team lead and encourages members to pay N300 to get enlisted.

Daily Trust reports that the National Assembly had in July given the federal government approval to obtain a $800 million loan from the World Bank to provide palliatives for the most vulnerable Nigerians, due to the harsh effects of the removal of petroleum subsidy.

Many Nigerians are eager to get enlisted for the government palliative. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had stated that N25,000 would be disbursed to 15m households for three months, through the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management.

In a recent interview, the National Coordinator/Chief Executive Officer of the National Social Investment Programmes Agency (NSIPA), Halima Shehu, said there are different categories of Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) that will be disbursed to vulnerable and low-income households across the country.

She said enrollees of the first category would receive N5,000 each, as part of efforts by the federal government to alleviate poverty. The other category, according to Shehu, is described as ‘livelihood,’ where beneficiaries will receive N150,000 each to start small or medium-scale businesses after they undergo vocational training. (Daily Trust)