States receive $27m World Bank-backed grants for meeting governance targets

The federal government has approved the release of $27 million in performance-based grants to states that achieved key governance and budgeting benchmarks under the World Bank-supported HOPE Governance Programme.

The announcement was made on Tuesday in Abuja by Assad Hassan, national coordinator of the programme, during a retreat attended by commissioners, permanent secretaries, and directors of budget and planning from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Hassan said the disbursement followed recommendations from the programme’s interim independent verification agent (IVA), which evaluated states based on year-zero disbursement-linked results (DLRs).

According to him, Bayelsa, Borno, Kano, Kebbi, and Yobe states qualified for $1.5 million each after adopting comprehensive guidelines for the preparation and submission of consolidated work plans for basic education and primary healthcare budgets.

He also disclosed that Adamawa, Bayelsa, Borno, Delta, Gombe, Kano, Plateau, Taraba, and Yobe qualified for an additional $500,000 each for adopting harmonised budget guidelines and chart of accounts for local governments.

Hassan further stated that Abia, Bayelsa, Borno, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi, Kogi, Nasarawa, Ondo, Plateau, and Yobe would receive $500,000 each for publishing their 2025 citizens’ budgets for basic education and primary healthcare.

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He explained that states that did not qualify either failed to publish the required documents before the March 31, 2025 deadline, did not satisfy the assessment criteria, or did not upload the documents on their official websites.

The national coordinator added that the interim verification agent is expected to complete the second phase of the year-zero verification exercise by July 2026.

The HOPE Governance Programme is a $500 million initiative backed by the World Bank aimed at improving financing, transparency, and accountability in Nigeria’s basic education and primary healthcare sectors.