The World Bank-supported HOPE Governance Programme has approved $27m in performance-based incentives for states that met key governance reforms in basic education and primary healthcare.
The National Coordinator of the HOPE Governance Programme, Assad Hassan, disclosed this during a retreat for commissioners, permanent secretaries and directors of budget and planning from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja.
Hassan said the incentives were awarded to states that achieved the Year Zero Disbursement-Linked Results under the programme, following an independent assessment of their performance.
He said Bayelsa, Borno, Kano, Kebbi and Yobe emerged as the biggest beneficiaries, qualifying for $1.5m each under two key performance indicators on education and primary healthcare budgeting, bringing their total earnings to $15m.
Nine states—Adamawa, Bayelsa, Borno, Delta, Gombe, Kano, Plateau, Taraba and Yobe—also qualified for $500,000 each for adopting harmonised budget guidelines and a unified chart of accounts for local governments.
In addition, 15 states, including Abia, Bayelsa, Borno, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi, Kogi, Nasarawa, Ondo, Plateau and Yobe, earned $500,000 each for publishing their 2025 Citizens’ Budget for basic education and primary healthcare within the stipulated deadline.
Hassan explained that only states that satisfied all programme requirements within the prescribed timelines qualified for the incentives.
He attributed the poor performance of many states to weak institutional coordination, late publication of required documents and failure to comply with programme guidelines.
According to him, the programme has commenced a capacity-building initiative to strengthen states’ institutional systems and improve their performance in subsequent assessments.
He added that the HOPE Governance Programme seeks to improve financing, transparency and accountability in primary healthcare and basic education while supporting the recruitment and deployment of teachers and frontline healthcare workers.
The programme, funded by the World Bank with $500m, is designed to strengthen public financial management and improve service delivery in Nigeria’s education and healthcare sectors through performance-based financing.
