Five states will receive a combined $15 million in performance-based incentives under the World Bank-supported HOPE Governance Programme after emerging as the best-performing states in implementing key education and healthcare reforms.
The National Coordinator of the HOPE Governance Programme, Assad Hassan, disclosed this 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.
A statement issued by the Communications Officer of the HOPE Governance Programme, Joe Mutah, indicated that the programme, which is domiciled in the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, approved $27 million in incentives for states that successfully achieved the Year Zero Disbursement-Linked Results under the programme.
According to the statement, the incentives are based on the findings and recommendations of the Interim Independent Verification Agent, which assessed states’ performance in meeting the programme’s Disbursement-Linked Indicators.
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The statement partly reads: “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 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.
“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.
“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”, it added.
An analysis of the incentives showed that Bayelsa, Borno, Kano, Kebbi and Yobe states emerged as the biggest beneficiaries.
The five states will receive $1.5 million each for meeting the requirements under Disbursement-Linked Result (DLR) 2.1, which focuses on the adoption of comprehensive guidelines for the preparation and submission of consolidated work plans for state basic education budgets.
The same five states also qualified for another $1.5 million each under Disbursement-Linked Result (DLR) 2.2, which measures the adoption of comprehensive guidelines for the preparation and submission of consolidated work plans for state primary healthcare budgets.
Together, the five states are expected to receive $15 million from the two indicators alone.
Under Disbursement-Linked Result (DLR) 2.3, which centres on the adoption of harmonised budget guidelines and a chart of accounts by local governments, Adamawa, Bayelsa, Borno, Delta, Gombe, Kano, Plateau, Taraba and Yobe states qualified for incentives of $500,000 each.
Similarly, under Disbursement-Linked Result (DLR) 4.1, which focuses on the publication of the 2025 Citizens Budget for basic education and primary healthcare by February 28, 2025, 15 states qualified for incentives.
The states are Abia, Bayelsa, Borno, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi, Kogi, Nasarawa, Ondo, Plateau and Yobe. Each of the states will receive $500,000.
The Communications Officer of the HOPE Governance Programme further stated that the Interim Independent Verification Agent was already working to conclude the second phase of verification for Year Zero results by July 2026, adding that it has commenced the implementation of a capacity-building action plan to provide technical support to states and improve their ability to achieve future programme targets.
Hassan maintained that the overall objectives of the HOPE Governance Programme were to maximise the utilisation of federal and state funds at the facility level for primary healthcare and basic education, promote transparency in intergovernmental transfers and expenditure, strengthen accountability, and improve staffing in both sectors.
