IN SHORT: Posts on Facebook claim that Nigeria’s federal government is making 500,000 naira loans. The government has started a palliative loan scheme, but these posts and links on social media are scams.
“Get Up to N500,000 Loan By FG,” reads a Facebook post, claiming that the federal government is granting loans to Nigerians. At current rates, this is about $400.
The post includes a link with photos of president Bola Tinubu and his vice president, Kashim Shettima, and the headline “Presidential Youth Empowerment Scheme 2024”.
The post has been shared over 600 times and received 40,000 likes and more than 8,600 comments.
The same link has been posted here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here. We also found similar posts here, here and here.
But how true is this claim? We checked.
Engagement bait and potential scam
Clicking on the “Apply Now” button leads to a site that posts articles about visa sponsorship for care assistant jobs in the United Kingdom. The website mentions nothing about any 500,000 naira loan from the Nigerian government.
But it was reported in February and April 2024 that the Federal Government would start disbursing “palliative” loans. This is an attempt at boosting the economy.
This is the official government website for loan and grant applications for artisans, creatives, food traders and others. This scheme allows small businesses to loan up to a million naira and manufacturers up to a billion naira.
Nigerians should be careful not to share personal information on fake government loan or grant websites or application portals.
Read our guides to avoid scams.
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For publishers: what to do if your post is rated false
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Publishers guideAfrica Check teams up with Facebook
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You can also help identify false information on Facebook. This guide explains how.
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