The Jigawa State Ministry of Health has denied any knowledge of a N75,000 cash grant for COVID-19 vaccination card holders, after hundreds of residents stormed the Gumel Local Government secretariat on Tuesday following a viral social media message.
The ministry’s Public Relations Officer, Sagir Nayaya, said the ministry has no record of such payment.
“No ministry of health programme is disbursing N75,000 to Corona card holders. This is misinformation,” Nayaya said.
He urged members of the public to confirm news from official sources only. “Verify information from government websites or accredited media before you believe or share it,” he advised.
The Gumel Local Government Council, through the Special Adviser to the Chairman on New Media, Hussaini Gumel, also described the claim as false.
“The news has no basis at all. No government agency announced any N75,000 grant for COVID-19 card holders,” he stated.
“People should disregard the rumour and verify information before sharing or taking any action. Gumel council officials are now sensitising residents to stop the spread of fake news,” Hussaini said.
The denial came after many residents abandoned their daily activities and trooped to the secretariat, only to be left disappointed when they discovered they had fallen for a rumour.
One resident, Idris Sani, said he travelled from a village 15 kilometres away after seeing the message on WhatsApp.
“I saw on WhatsApp that Corona card holders will collect N75,000 today. I came early but found nothing here,” he said.
Another resident, Maryamu Salisu, expressed her disappointment. “The rumour was that the government wants to pay vaccinated people. I brought my card, but officials told us it’s fake news,” she said.
Recall that during the COVID-19 vaccination exercise between 2021 and 2023, millions of residents of the state received jabs at designated centres across the 287 wards’ health centres and were issued vaccination cards. The viral message on WhatsApp and other messaging platforms had asked residents to come with their vaccination cards to collect the purported grant.
