Five states have received a combined $15 million in performance-based incentives under the World Bank-supported HOPE Governance Programme for implementing key education and healthcare reforms, according to The PUNCH.
Bayelsa, Borno, Kano, Kebbi, and Yobe states emerged as the biggest beneficiaries, each receiving $1.5 million for adopting comprehensive guidelines for state basic education budgets and another $1.5 million each for primary healthcare budget guidelines, totalling $15 million.
Under other indicators, nine states received $500,000 each for adopting harmonised budget guidelines, while 15 states received $500,000 each for publishing 2025 Citizens Budgets.
The programme is a $500 million World Bank initiative designed to improve financing for basic education and primary healthcare delivery in Nigeria.
Key Points:
Performance-based incentives encourage states to prioritise education and healthcare reforms
The five top-performing states gain funding to further strengthen service delivery
Weak institutional coordination prevented many states from qualifying
The programme promotes transparency in intergovernmental transfers and expenditure
The incentive model may drive wider adoption of reform across other states
States that failed to qualify will receive technical support to improve performance. The second verification phase concludes by July 2026.
Sources: The PUNCH, World Bank
