World Bank approves $27m incentive for Nigerian states implementing reforms

THE World Bank-backed HOPE Governance Programme has approved $27 million in performance-based incentives for Nigerian states that successfully implemented key governance reforms in the education and primary healthcare sectors.

The National Coordinator of the HOPE Governance Programme, Mr Assad Hassan, announced the incentive package on Tuesday during a retreat for commissioners, permanent secretaries and directors of budget and planning from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Abuja.

According to a statement issued by the programme’s Communications Officer, Mr Joe Mutah, the incentives were awarded based on the findings of the Interim Independent Verification Agent, which assessed states’ performance against the programme’s Year Zero Disbursement-Linked Indicators (DLIs).

Five states, including Bayelsa, Borno, Kano, Kebbi and Yobe, emerged as the biggest beneficiaries. Each qualified for $1.5 million under Disbursement-Linked Result (DLR) 2.1 for adopting comprehensive guidelines for preparing and submitting consolidated work plans for state basic education budgets.

READ ALSO: Remi Tinubu insists empowerment programme covers more than akara traders

The same states also earned another $1.5 million each under DLR 2.2 for meeting similar requirements for state primary healthcare budgets, bringing their combined allocation under the two indicators to $15 million.

Under DLR 2.3, which rewards the adoption of harmonised budget guidelines and a chart of accounts for local governments, Adamawa, Bayelsa, Borno, Delta, Gombe, Kano, Plateau, Taraba and Yobe qualified for incentives of $500,000 each.

Meanwhile, 15 states met the requirements under DLR 4.1, which focuses on publishing the 2025 Citizens Budget for basic education and primary healthcare by February 28, 2025. The qualifying states are Abia, Bayelsa, Borno, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi, Kogi, Nasarawa, Ondo, Plateau and Yobe. Each will receive $500,000.

Hassan said only states that satisfied all programme requirements within the stipulated timelines were eligible for the incentives, noting that the awards followed a rigorous independent verification process.

He explained that several participating states failed to qualify because they either published the required documents after the March 31, 2025 deadline, did not meet the prescribed criteria or failed to upload the required information on their official websites.

According to the coordinator, weak institutional coordination was one of the major reasons for the poor performance recorded by some states, stressing the need for stronger collaboration among ministries, departments and agencies to ensure the reforms become permanent governance practices.

Hassan disclosed that the Interim Independent Verification Agent is expected to conclude the second phase of verification for the Year Zero results by July 2026.

He also said the programme has commenced a capacity-building action plan that will provide technical support to states to strengthen their systems and improve performance in future assessments.

READ ALSO: How Tinubu has managed inflation, growth, foreign investment in 3 years

According to him, the HOPE Governance Programme is designed to improve the utilisation of federal and state funding for primary healthcare and basic education, promote transparency and accountability in public expenditure, strengthen coordinated planning, and address staffing shortages through the recruitment and deployment of teachers and frontline healthcare workers.

The $500 million World Bank-supported initiative aims to improve financing and service delivery in Nigeria’s education and healthcare sectors, while the latest $27 million disbursement marks one of its first major performance-based reward mechanisms for states implementing governance reforms.