Five states have emerged as the biggest beneficiaries of a $27 million performance-based incentive package under the World Bank-backed HOPE Governance Programme, after meeting key reform benchmarks in Nigeria’s education and primary healthcare sectors.
Bayelsa, Borno, Kano, Kebbi and Yobe states will each receive $3 million, amounting to a combined $15 million, for successfully implementing critical governance reforms tied to the programme’s first-year performance assessment.
The National Coordinator of the HOPE Governance Programme, Assad Hassan, announced the disbursement on Tuesday during a retreat for commissioners, permanent secretaries, and directors of budget and planning from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja.
Details of the incentive package were contained in a statement issued by the programme’s Communications Officer, Joe Mutah.
According to the statement, the HOPE Governance Programme, which is domiciled in the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, approved the incentives after an independent verification of states’ performance under the programme’s Year Zero Disbursement-Linked Results.
It stated: “The World Bank-supported HOPE Governance Programme, domiciled in the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, is set to disburse $27 million as performance-based incentives to states that successfully achieved the Year Zero Disbursement-Linked Results.”
The verification exercise was conducted by the Interim Independent Verification Agent, whose assessment formed the basis for determining which states qualified for the rewards.
Under Disbursement-Linked Results (DLR) 2.1 and 2.2, Bayelsa, Borno, Kano, Kebbi and Yobe met all stipulated requirements relating to the adoption of comprehensive guidelines for preparing and submitting consolidated work plans for state basic education and primary healthcare budgets.
Each of the five states qualified for $1.5 million under each indicator, bringing their total earnings from the two reform areas to $3 million apiece.
Nine states also secured incentives under DLR 2.3, which measures the adoption of harmonised budget guidelines and a chart of accounts by local governments. Adamawa, Bayelsa, Borno, Delta, Gombe, Kano, Plateau, Taraba and Yobe will each receive $500,000 for meeting the programme’s requirements.
Another 15 states qualified for rewards under DLR 4.1 after publishing their 2025 Citizens Budget for basic education and primary healthcare before the required deadline. The states are Abia, Bayelsa, Borno, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi, Kogi, Nasarawa, Ondo, Plateau and Yobe, with each receiving $500,000.
Explaining how the beneficiaries were selected, Hassan said only states that fully complied with the programme’s requirements within the stipulated timelines were considered.
The statement noted: “The incentives are based on the findings and recommendations of the Interim Independent Verification Agent, which carried out a rigorous assessment of states’ performances against the Year Zero Disbursement-Linked Indicators.
“For DLR 2.1 and DLR 2.2, Bayelsa, Borno, Kano, Kebbi and Yobe states met all the requirements and are therefore eligible to receive $1.5 million each for both indicators.
“For DLR 2.3, nine states successfully adopted harmonised budget guidelines and a chart of accounts for local governments and will receive $500,000 each.
“Also, under DLR 4.1, 15 states met the conditions relating to the publication of the Financial Year 2025 Citizens Budget for basic education and primary healthcare and will equally receive $500,000 each.”
He explained that many states were unable to access the incentives because they failed to satisfy the programme’s conditions or missed critical deadlines.
“Other participating states were not eligible for the incentives because they either published the required guidelines after the March 31, 2025 deadline, failed to meet most of the stipulated criteria, or did not publish the required results on their official state websites,” he said.
Hassan identified poor collaboration among government institutions as a major obstacle to successful implementation of the reforms in several states.
According to him, “One of the key challenges observed is the inability of many states to establish effective institutional coordination mechanisms. This has undermined institutional ownership of the reforms and threatens their sustainability.
“States need to strengthen coordination among ministries, departments and agencies to ensure that these reforms are not treated as one-off activities but become institutionalised governance practices.”
He disclosed that the Interim Independent Verification Agent was already concluding the second phase of verification for the Year Zero assessment, with the process expected to be completed by July 2026.
Hassan further revealed that the programme had begun implementing a comprehensive capacity-building initiative aimed at helping states improve their systems and meet future performance targets.
“The programme has commenced preparations for the implementation of a robust capacity-building action plan that will provide hands-on technical support to states. The objective is to help states improve their systems and successfully achieve subsequent programme results,” he added.
Speaking on the programme’s broader goals, Hassan said it is designed to strengthen public financial management in the education and healthcare sectors while improving transparency and accountability in the use of government resources.
According to him, “The programme seeks to strengthen the execution of coordinated annual plans for primary healthcare and basic education, improve accountability in public expenditure, and close staffing gaps through the recruitment and deployment of teachers and priority healthcare workers across the states.”
The HOPE Governance Programme is a $500 million World Bank-supported initiative aimed at improving financing for basic education and primary healthcare services across Nigeria. It also promotes transparency in public spending while supporting better recruitment, deployment and performance management of teachers and frontline healthcare workers at the federal, state and local government levels.
The newly approved $27 million incentive package represents one of the programme’s earliest major performance-based disbursements and reflects a growing emphasis on rewarding states that successfully implement governance reforms capable of strengthening public service delivery.
(Ripples)