Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The World Bank has approved the disbursement of $27 million in performance-based incentives to 20 Nigerian states under the Human Capital Opportunities for Prosperity and Equity (HOPE) Governance Programme, with Bayelsa, Borno, Kano, Kebbi, and Yobe emerging as the biggest beneficiaries for their implementation of key reforms in basic education and primary healthcare.
The National Coordinator of the HOPE Governance Programme, Dr. Assad Hassan, announced the incentive package on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, during a retreat for Commissioners, Permanent Secretaries, and Directors of Budget and Planning from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja. The disbursement follows an independent assessment by the Interim Independent Verification Agent (IVA), which evaluated states' compliance with governance and public finance reforms under the programme's Year Zero Disbursement-Linked Results (DLRs).
Bayelsa, Borno, Kano, Kebbi, and Yobe states each qualified for $1.5 million 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. The same five states also earned an additional $1.5 million each under DLR 2.2 for implementing similar reforms in the preparation of state primary healthcare budgets. This brings their total earnings from the two reform areas to $3 million per state, amounting to a combined $15 million.
Under DLR 2.3, which rewards local governments for adopting harmonised budget guidelines and a chart of accounts, nine states — Adamawa, Bayelsa, Borno, Delta, Gombe, Kano, Plateau, Taraba, and Yobe — each qualified for $500,000.
For DLR 4.1, which measures transparency through the publication of the 2025 Citizens Budget for Basic Education and Primary Healthcare, 15 states each received $500,000. The states are Abia, Bayelsa, Borno, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi, Kogi, Nasarawa, Ondo, Plateau, and Yobe.
The HOPE Governance Programme is a $500 million World Bank-supported initiative domiciled in the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning. It is designed to improve financing for basic education and primary healthcare while strengthening transparency, accountability, and workforce management across the two sectors. Of the total financing, $480 million has been earmarked for performance-based grants to states that achieve agreed reform targets, while the remaining $20 million is dedicated to technical assistance, institutional strengthening, and implementation support.
The World Bank approved the programme in September 2024, and Nigeria's Federal Executive Council approved the financing agreement in February 2025. The programme is being implemented through a broad partnership involving state governments, the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Basic Health Care Provision Fund oversight structures, and the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning.
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. He identified weak institutional coordination as one of the major obstacles preventing many states from meeting the programme's requirements.
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. 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.
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