The Nigerian government is accelerating efforts to secure participation from all 36 states in a $500 million World Bank-assisted loan facility under the HOPE Governance Program, citing time constraints to unlock critical funding.
The initiative, formally known as the Human Capital Opportunities and Prospects for Employment (HOPE) Governance Program, targets systemic governance weaknesses in the basic education and primary healthcare sectors. A key condition for fund disbursement requires each state to sign a Subsidiary Loan Agreement, a step the federal authorities are now prioritising.
According to a statement from program spokesperson Joe Mutah, the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning is leading the coordinated push, working closely with the Federal Ministry of Finance. Permanent Secretary Dr. Deborah Odoh confirmed the ministry has developed a specific timeline to engage state governments and finalise agreements faster. “We will put in extra efforts to make it happen even faster given the time constraints,” she stated in Abuja following a courtesy visit from the World Bank HOPE Governance team.
The World Bank’s Task Team Leader for the program, Ikechukwu Nweje, urged the Permanent Secretary to leverage all channels within her ministry to expedite state engagements. He emphasised that governance reform is the foundational prerequisite for improving service delivery in education and health. “If the governance part fails, we will continue to have the same problems,” Nweje said, noting that ministers identified governance as the key to unlocking sectoral results.
The program ties financial disbursement to the achievement of verified “Disbursement-Linked Results,” meaning states must meet predefined governance and performance benchmarks to access funds. National Coordinator Dr. Assad Hassan said the meeting with the World Bank aimed to review progress and ongoing challenges in implementation.
By securing universal state buy-in, the federal government aims to activate the full $500 million facility, which is designed to strengthen institutional capacity, transparency, and accountability in the two social sectors. The success of the program hinges on transforming governance structures to ensure improvements in education and primary healthcare services reach the citizenry.
