Nigerians, avoid engagement bait Facebook posts. N-Power programme not giving out N30,000 'grants'
IN SHORT: A message circulating on WhatsApp and Facebook claims that the N-Power programme is giving out cash grants to Nigerians. But these are engagement bait posts that could lead to the theft of your personal or bank details.
"N-Power ₦30,000 registration portal is open." This is according to a message doing the rounds on instant messaging platform WhatsApp.
The Message also says: "Citizens across the Nation who are yet to recieve there N-Power payment are invited to Apply for the N-Power ₦30,000 Grant Scheme."
It includes a link where users can supposedly apply for the grant.
N-Power is a Nigerian government initiative launched in 2016 by then-president Muhammadu Buhari. It is a social investment programme, aimed at reducing unemployment among young people.
Another version of the message circulating on Facebook encouraged users to apply for the "₦33,000 N-Power Grant by CBN".
CBN stands for the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The Facebook post features a graphic with the image of former minister of humanitarian affairs Sadiyah Farouq and a different link to the one in the WhatsApp message. The graphic also shows a different amount of "N30,00".
The post has received more than 42,000 reactions, 9,300 comments and 750 shares.
Similar posts can be found here, here and here. (Note: See more instances listed at the end of this report.)
But is there any truth to these posts? We checked.
Engagement bait scam
Always be wary of messages that contain grammatical and punctuation errors. We would expect any message from a government programme to be well-written and error-free.
We clicked on the link in the WhatsApp message and it took us to a website where we were asked to fill in our personal details. This included marital status, name, mobile phone number, location, bank name and account number. We filled in made-up details and we were congratulated on "qualifying" for the grant.
We were then asked to share the link with five groups or 15 friends on WhatsApp before we could access the money. Despite this, we could proceed without sharing the link.
The link in the Facebook post also followed the same pattern.
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This is a clear example of engagement bait. These are social media posts that ask people to like, comment or share a message. This in turn increases the post's reach but ultimately offers no reward. It can direct traffic to a website, which may earn advertising revenue.
In 2020, Farouq was part of a major N-Power campaign, but announced its closure the same year. We checked her X page (formerly Twitter) for any mention of the N30,000 cash grant but found nothing.
On N-Power's X page, our search for the keywords "30,000 cash grant" and "30,000 naira registration" yielded no results.
In a 2023 post, the initiative urged users to follow its official social media accounts for any updates on payments and portal-related matters.
We also checked credible media outlets and found no reports of the N30,000 N-Power cash grant.
To protect yourself, read our guide on how to spot scams on Facebook.
Similar posts can be found here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
