World Bank to reward top-performing states with $27m under HOPE Governance Programme

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By Joseph Erunke, Abuja

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States that demonstrated strong commitment to reforms in basic education and primary healthcare are set to receive $27 million (about N41 billion) in performance-based incentives under the World Bank-supported HOPE Governance Programme, with Bayelsa, Borno, Kano, Kebbi and Yobe emerging among the biggest beneficiaries.

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The National Coordinator of the HOPE Governance Programme, Dr. Assad Hassan, announced the incentive package on Tuesday in Abuja during a retreat for Commissioners, Permanent Secretaries and Directors of Budget and Planning from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

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According to a press release by Joe Mutah,
Communications Officer,HOPE Governance Program, Dr. Hassan
said the funds would be released to states that successfully met the Year Zero Disbursement-Linked Results (DLRs) after an independent assessment by the Interim Independent Verification Agent (IVA), which evaluated states’ compliance with key governance and public finance reforms.

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According to him, the incentives are tied to measurable reforms designed to improve transparency, accountability and efficient funding of basic education and primary healthcare across the country.

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Dr. Hassan disclosed that Bayelsa, Borno, Kano, Kebbi and Yobe qualified for $1.5 million each under DLR 2.1 for adopting comprehensive guidelines for preparing and submitting consolidated work plans for state basic education budgets before the March 31, 2025 deadline.

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The same five states also earned another $1.5 million each under DLR 2.2 for implementing similar reforms in the preparation of state primary healthcare budgets.

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

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For DLR 4.1, which measures transparency through the publication of the 2025 Citizens Budget for Basic Education and Primary Healthcare, Abia, Bayelsa, Borno, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi, Kogi, Nasarawa, Ondo, Plateau and Yobe will each receive $500,000.

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Dr. Hassan explained that several participating states failed to qualify because they either missed the March 31, 2025 deadline, did not satisfy the required performance benchmarks, or failed to publish the approved documents on their official websites.

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He identified weak institutional coordination as one of the major obstacles preventing many states from meeting the programme’s requirements, warning that inadequate collaboration among relevant agencies continues to undermine ownership and sustainability of reforms.

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The National Coordinator disclosed that the Interim Verification Agent is expected to complete the second phase of the Year Zero verification exercise by July 2026.

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He added that the programme has commenced implementation of a comprehensive capacity-building plan to provide technical support to states that fell short of the required benchmarks, with the aim of improving their performance in subsequent assessment rounds.

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According to him, the HOPE Governance Programme seeks to strengthen the utilisation of federal and state resources at the facility level for primary healthcare and basic education, improve transparency in intergovernmental fiscal transfers, strengthen accountability in public spending, and support the recruitment and deployment of teachers and frontline healthcare workers.

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The $500 million World Bank-supported HOPE Governance Programme is designed to boost financing for basic education and primary healthcare while promoting transparency, accountability and improved service delivery across Nigeria.

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