Five states have emerged as the biggest beneficiaries of a $27 million performance-based incentive package under the World Bank-supported HOPE Governance Programme after meeting key reform targets in the education and healthcare sectors.
The incentive, which is aimed at encouraging transparency, accountability and improved service delivery, will reward states that successfully implemented agreed governance reforms under the programme.
The National Coordinator of the HOPE Governance Programme, Assad Hassan, announced the development on Tuesday 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 information was contained in a statement issued by the programme’s Communications Officer, Joe Mutah.
According to the statement, the HOPE Governance Programme, which is domiciled in the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning and supported by the World Bank, approved a total of $27 million in incentives for states that successfully achieved the Year Zero Disbursement-Linked Results (DLRs).
The rewards were based on an independent assessment conducted by the Interim Independent Verification Agent, which evaluated how well states met the programme’s performance targets within specified timelines.
A breakdown of the incentives showed that Bayelsa, Borno, Kano, Kebbi and Yobe states emerged as the highest-performing states.
Each of the five states qualified for $1.5 million under Disbursement-Linked Result (DLR) 2.1, which focuses on adopting comprehensive guidelines for preparing and submitting consolidated work plans for state basic education budgets.
They also qualified for another $1.5 million each under Disbursement-Linked Result (DLR) 2.2, which measures the adoption of similar guidelines for state primary healthcare budgets.
With the two indicators combined, each of the five states will receive $3 million, bringing the total allocation under the two categories to $15 million.
Nine other states also earned rewards under Disbursement-Linked Result (DLR) 2.3, which focuses on the adoption of harmonised budget guidelines and a unified chart of accounts for local governments.
The qualifying states are Adamawa, Bayelsa, Borno, Delta, Gombe, Kano, Plateau, Taraba and Yobe.
Each of the states will receive $500,000 under that category.
In addition, 15 states qualified for incentives under Disbursement-Linked Result (DLR) 4.1 after publishing their 2025 Citizens Budget for basic education and primary healthcare before the required deadline.
The states are Abia, Bayelsa, Borno, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi, Kogi, Nasarawa, Ondo, Plateau and Yobe.
Each of them will receive $500,000.
Speaking at the retreat, Hassan explained that only states that met all the programme’s requirements within the stipulated deadlines qualified for the incentives.
He said the awards were based on the findings and recommendations of the Interim Independent Verification Agent, which carried out a detailed assessment of the participating states.
According to him, Bayelsa, Borno, Kano, Kebbi and Yobe met all the conditions under DLR 2.1 and DLR 2.2, making them eligible for the highest rewards.
He also confirmed that nine states successfully implemented harmonised budget guidelines for local governments, while 15 states met the requirements for publishing their Citizens Budget documents on time.
However, Hassan disclosed that many participating states failed to qualify because they either missed the deadlines or did not satisfy the programme’s conditions.
He said some states published the required documents after the March 31, 2025 deadline, while others failed to meet the required standards or did not upload the necessary documents on their official websites.
According to him, these shortcomings made them ineligible for the performance-based incentives.
The national coordinator also identified weak institutional coordination as one of the biggest obstacles affecting implementation in many states.
He said poor collaboration among ministries, departments and agencies had weakened ownership of the reforms and could threaten their long-term sustainability.
“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,” Hassan said.
He urged state governments to strengthen cooperation among relevant government agencies to ensure that the reforms become permanent governance practices rather than one-time activities aimed only at securing financial rewards.
Hassan also announced that the Interim Independent Verification Agent was expected to complete the second phase of verification for the Year Zero results by July 2026.
He added that the programme had already begun implementing a comprehensive capacity-building plan designed to provide technical support to states that struggled to meet the initial targets.
According to him, the technical assistance will help improve state systems and prepare them to achieve future programme milestones.
He explained that the HOPE Governance Programme is designed to improve the management and use of public funds in Nigeria’s basic education and primary healthcare sectors.
Its objectives include ensuring that federal and state resources reach schools and healthcare facilities more effectively, promoting transparency in public spending, strengthening accountability and improving staffing through the recruitment and deployment of teachers and frontline health workers.
The program also seeks to improve the preparation and implementation of coordinated annual work plans for education and healthcare while strengthening financial management at both state and local government levels.
Performance-based financing has become an increasingly popular approach among development partners because it links funding directly to measurable results rather than promises or plans.
The World Bank has adopted the model in several countries to encourage governments to improve governance, accountability and service delivery through clearly defined performance targets.
For Nigeria, where education and primary healthcare continue to face funding and management challenges, the incentive programme is expected to encourage states to adopt stronger budgeting systems, improve transparency and ensure that public resources are better managed.
With additional rounds of assessment expected under the program, states that missed out on the first round of incentives are expected to strengthen their systems and address identified weaknesses in order to qualify for future funding opportunities.