The Federal Government, through the World Bank-supported HOPE Governance Programme, has approved the disbursement of $27 million in performance-based grants to states that met key governance and budgeting targets.

The National Coordinator of the programme, Assad Hassan, disclosed this on Tuesday during a retreat for commissioners, permanent secretaries, and directors of budget and planning from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Abuja.

Hassan explained that the disbursement followed recommendations by the programme’s Interim Independent Verification Agent (IVA), which evaluated states’ performance based on year-zero disbursement-linked results (DLRs).

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

He further stated that Adamawa, Bayelsa, Borno, Delta, Gombe, Kano, Plateau, Taraba and Yobe states qualified for $500,000 each for implementing harmonised budget guidelines and a unified chart of accounts for local governments.

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

Hassan noted that states that failed to qualify either did not meet the required assessment criteria, submitted their documents after the March 31, 2025 deadline, or failed to publish them on their official websites.

He added that the Interim Independent Verification Agent is expected to conclude the second phase of the year-zero verification exercise by July 2026.

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