Five states are set to receive a combined $15 million in performance-based incentives under the World Bank-supported HOPE Governance Programme after recording the highest performance in implementing key reforms in the education and healthcare sectors.
The National Coordinator of the HOPE Governance Programme, Assad Hassan, announced this 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.
The programme has approved a total of $27 million in incentives for states that successfully met the Year Zero Disbursement-Linked Results (DLRs), based on an independent assessment of their performance.
According to the programme, Bayelsa, Borno, Kano, Kebbi and Yobe emerged as the top-performing states. Each of the five states qualified for $1.5 million under DLR 2.1 for adopting comprehensive guidelines for preparing and submitting consolidated work plans for state basic education budgets.
The same states also earned another $1.5 million each under DLR 2.2, which focuses on the adoption of similar guidelines for state primary healthcare budgets. Together, the two indicators account for $15 million in incentives.
Under DLR 2.3, which rewards states for adopting harmonised budget guidelines and a chart of accounts for local governments, Adamawa, Bayelsa, Borno, Delta, Gombe, Kano, Plateau, Taraba and Yobe qualified to receive $500,000 each.
In addition, 15 states met the requirements under DLR 4.1 by publishing their 2025 Citizens Budget for basic education and primary healthcare within the approved timeline. The qualifying states are Abia, Bayelsa, Borno, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi, Kogi, Nasarawa, Ondo, Plateau and Yobe, with each state receiving $500,000.
Hassan explained that only states that fulfilled all programme requirements within the specified deadlines qualified for the incentives, noting that several states failed to meet the eligibility criteria because they submitted documents late or did not satisfy the required standards.
He identified weak institutional coordination among ministries, departments and agencies as one of the major reasons for poor performance in some states, urging governments to strengthen collaboration to ensure the reforms become permanent governance practices.
The coordinator also disclosed that the second phase of the Year Zero verification process is expected to be completed by July 2026, while a comprehensive capacity-building programme has already commenced to provide technical support and improve states’ performance in future assessments.
He said the HOPE Governance Programme is designed to improve the use of public funds in primary healthcare and basic education, strengthen transparency and accountability, and support the recruitment and deployment of teachers and healthcare workers across Nigeria.
The $500 million initiative is backed by the World Bank and aims to enhance financing and service delivery in the country’s education and healthcare sectors through performance-based reforms.
