World Bank-backed programme to release $27 million in performance incentives to Nigeria

Nigeria's World Bank-backed HOPE Governance Programme will disburse $27 million in performance-based grants to states that met key governance and public finance reform targets, marking the first round of incentives under the initiative aimed at improving basic education and primary healthcare.

• Nigeria will disburse $27 million in performance-based grants to states that met governance and budget transparency targets under the World Bank-backed HOPE Governance Programme.
• The incentives reward reforms in budgeting, financial accountability and citizens' access to education and primary healthcare spending information.
• Several states missed out after failing to meet verification criteria or publish required documents before programme deadlines.
• The initiative forms part of a broader $500 million effort to strengthen governance and improve the delivery of basic education and primary healthcare across Nigeria.

The announcement was made on Tuesday in Abuja by the programme's National Coordinator, Dr Assad Hassan, during a retreat attended by commissioners, permanent secretaries and directors of budget and planning from Nigeria's 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

The incentives follow an assessment by an Interim Independent Verification Agent, which evaluated participating states against a set of "Year Zero" Disbursement-Linked Results (DLRs) tied to budget transparency, planning and financial management.

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Under the first two performance indicators, Bayelsa, Borno, Kano, Kebbi and Yobe states each qualified for $1.5 million after adopting standardised guidelines for preparing and submitting consolidated budgets for basic education and primary healthcare.

A further nine states, Adamawa, Bayelsa, Borno, Delta, Gombe, Kano, Plateau, Taraba and Yobe—will each receive $500,000 for adopting harmonised local government budget guidelines and chart of accounts.

Fifteen states, including Abia, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi, Kogi, Nasarawa, Ondo, Plateau, Bayelsa, Borno and Yobe, also qualified for $500,000 each after publishing citizens' budgets for the 2025 financial year covering primary healthcare and basic education.

Dr Hassan said states that did not qualify either failed to publish the required documents before the programme's deadlines, did not satisfy the verification criteria or did not make the information publicly available through their official websites.

He identified weak institutional coordination as one of the main obstacles preventing several states from meeting the programme's benchmarks, adding that the second phase of the Year Zero verification exercise is expected to be completed by July 2026.

The HOPE Governance Programme is a $500 million World Bank-supported initiative designed to improve financing and accountability in Nigeria's basic education and primary healthcare sectors.

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It links funding to measurable governance reforms, including stronger public financial management, greater transparency in intergovernmental spending and improvements in workforce planning for teachers and frontline healthcare workers.

According to Dr Hassan, preparations are under way to implement a capacity-building plan that will provide technical support to participating states to improve future performance.

Performance-based financing has become an increasingly common feature of multilateral development programmes, with institutions such as the World Bank using financial incentives to encourage governments to strengthen public sector governance, improve budget transparency and deliver better social services.