The World Bank and Governments of South Western part of Nigeria, comprising Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, and Oyo, have agreed to work together to improve the World Bank assisted projects’ portfolio implementation performance and delivery of results to project beneficiaries in the region.
The agreement was the result of the discussions of officials of the Federal Ministry of Finance, senior government officials of the South Western states and officials of the World Bank at the bank’s joint State Portfolio Performance Review (SPPR) meeting held in Ibadan, Oyo State, on the World Bank assisted projects.
A statement issued on the SPPR session by Olufunke Olufon of the Media Unit of the World Bank Country Office in Nigeria, indicated that participants discussed specifically ways to improve portfolio implementation performance and delivery of results to project beneficiaries.
Focusing on how the projects could impact more lives at the forum, representatives of the state governments identified critical cross-cutting challenges affecting project performance and discussed ways to accelerate implementation and the achievement of results.
Commenting on the importance of the meeting to effective implementation of the World Bank-assisted projects in the region, Deputy Director, Federal Projects Financial Management Department, Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Mr. E. Nwaobia, said: “The SPPR is an important meeting for Federal and State project authorities for accountability, monitoring, evaluation, and peer learning. Furthermore, it provides an opportunity to deliberate on challenges and seek solutions.”
Looking forward, the meeting participants agreed on several practical next steps, such as improved service standards, strengthening of coordination and result-tracking mechanisms, and effective communication of results to key stakeholders.
In his remarks, World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Rachid Benmessaoud, noted that “with a focus on beneficiaries, the participants in a collective spirit, engaged to find solutions and deliberated on what can be done differently to bring benefits at a faster pace.
“Through diligence and commitment to address emerging challenges faced, these candid discussions will deliver results”, he added.
While declaring open the meeting, Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Otunba Moses Adeyemo, noted that “these interventions perfectly align with the governments’ development priorities.”
The SPPR, which featured participants from key representatives from the sector ministries, project implementation units’ staff, and members of the World Bank Nigeria Country team, was co-chaired by the Federal Ministry of Finance, Commissioners of the Southwestern states, and the World Bank Country Director, Nigeria.
Currently, the World Bank’s active portfolio in Southwest Nigeria comprised nine national IDA projects with a total value of $571million.
