Five Nigerian states are set to receive a combined $15 million in performance-based grants under the World Bank-backed HOPE Governance Programme after emerging as the top performers in implementing key reforms in the education and primary healthcare sectors.
The National Coordinator of the HOPE Governance Programme, Assad Hassan, announced this on Tuesday during a retreat in Abuja attended by commissioners, permanent secretaries, and directors of budget and planning from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
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 operates under the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, approved a total of $27 million in rewards for states that successfully met the Year Zero Disbursement-Linked Results (DLRs).
“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 disbursement followed the recommendations of the Interim Independent Verification Agent, which evaluated the performance of participating states against the programme’s approved Disbursement-Linked Indicators.
Bayelsa, Borno, Kano, Kebbi and Yobe emerged as the highest beneficiaries. Each of the five states 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.
They also secured another $1.5 million each under Disbursement-Linked Result (DLR) 2.2, which measures compliance with similar guidelines for state primary healthcare budgets. Combined, the two indicators will earn the five states a total of $15 million.
For Disbursement-Linked Result (DLR) 2.3, which assesses the adoption of harmonised budget guidelines and a chart of accounts by local governments, Adamawa, Bayelsa, Borno, Delta, Gombe, Kano, Plateau, Taraba and Yobe qualified for incentives of $500,000 each.
Another 15 states met the conditions under Disbursement-Linked Result (DLR) 4.1 by publishing their 2025 Citizens Budget for basic education and primary healthcare before the stipulated deadline of February 28, 2025.
The qualifying states are Abia, Bayelsa, Borno, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi, Kogi, Nasarawa, Ondo, Plateau and Yobe. Each of them will receive $500,000.
Explaining the criteria for the awards, Hassan said only states that fully satisfied the programme’s conditions within the approved timelines qualified for the incentives.
“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.”
Hassan noted that several states failed to qualify because they either missed the deadlines, did not satisfy the required conditions or failed to publish the necessary documents on their official websites.
“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.
He attributed much of the poor performance to weak institutional collaboration across government agencies.
According to him, “One of the key challenges observed is the inability of many states to establish effective institutional coordination mechanisms.
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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.”
Hassan further disclosed that the Interim Independent Verification Agent is expected to complete the second phase of the Year Zero verification exercise by July 2026.
He also revealed that the programme has begun implementing a capacity-building plan aimed at strengthening state institutions and improving their ability to 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.
He explained that the HOPE Governance Programme is designed to improve the use of federal and state resources for primary healthcare and basic education, while promoting transparency, accountability and better staffing across both sectors.
“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,” he said.
The HOPE Governance Programme is a $500 million initiative supported by the World Bank to improve financing and service delivery in Nigeria’s basic education and primary healthcare sectors.
It also promotes transparency in public spending and supports improvements in the recruitment, deployment and performance management of teachers and primary healthcare workers at the federal, state and local government levels.
The latest $27 million incentive package marks one of the programme’s first major performance-based reward schemes, highlighting the growing adoption of results-driven financing to strengthen reforms in Nigeria’s education and healthcare sectors.