{"id":5189,"date":"2020-06-28T14:56:56","date_gmt":"2020-06-28T13:56:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/?p=5189"},"modified":"2020-08-06T12:29:57","modified_gmt":"2020-08-06T11:29:57","slug":"is-the-nigerian-government-set-to-disburse-n30000-to-citizens-as-covid-19-lockdown-funds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/is-the-nigerian-government-set-to-disburse-n30000-to-citizens-as-covid-19-lockdown-funds\/","title":{"rendered":"Is the Nigerian government set to disburse N30,000 to citizens as Covid-19 lockdown funds?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Information circulating across social media platforms, best illustrated through this link<\/a> web message, claims that Nigeria’s Federal Government has approved to disburse 30,000 to citizens as Covid-19 lockdown funds.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The claim that FG will disburse 30,000 via the said link is untrue. Both the Federal Government and National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) have confirmed the information to be a ruse.    <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full Text<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Since the outset of the coronavirus pandemic, a flood of misinformation has overwhelmed media platforms. While many can be dismissed outright, some seek the emotional and persuasive paths of human vulnerability to achieve virality, such as with the claim that the federal government has approved the disbursement of 30,000 Naira to Nigerians as COVID-19 lockdown funds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The link requires that users click to respond to some questions and subsequently share the link to others as a prerequisite to access the said fund. A Facebook page<\/a> captioned, “FG lockdown funds” reiterated the same claim. The page, created 15 June, has already garnered 96 members.  Similarly, we found out that users had shared the link over 9,550 on Facebook and 10,503 on WhatsApp. We made this discovery through Linktally, a web tool that checks how many times a link is shared across social media platforms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interestingly, this claim is reminiscent of a similar claim<\/a> in March which alleged that Femi Adesina announced that Nigerians with Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) will be given 30,000 Naira as relief funds. And while Mr Adesina refuted<\/a> the report, some Nigerians continue to nurse hopes for its actualisation, thus justifying the need to put the claims up for scrutiny and validation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fake news peddlers have concocted a statement, purportedly issued by me, saying FG will pay N30,000 to each Nigerian with BVN, to help them stock up before an impending national lockdown. Not me. The so-called statement is hereby disclaimed.<\/p>— Femi Adesina (@FemAdesina) March 28, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote>