The Federal Government has intensified efforts to ensure that all 36 states sign on to the $500 million HOPE Governance Programme, a World Bank-backed initiative aimed at strengthening service delivery in basic education and primary healthcare.
Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Deborah O. N. Odoh, said the ministry is working closely with the Federal Ministry of Finance to fast-track the signing of Subsidiary Loan Agreements required for states to access funding under the programme.
Speaking in Abuja on Wednesday while receiving a delegation from the World Bank Group, Odoh said the government had developed a timeline to accelerate state participation amid growing urgency.
“We have been strategising with the Federal Ministry of Finance… We will put in extra efforts to make it happen even faster given the time constraints,” she said.
The HOPE Governance Programme is designed to improve accountability and institutional performance in Nigeria’s education and health sectors, with disbursements tied to measurable results.
Odoh pledged institutional backing to ensure effective implementation, noting that the initiative is expected to deliver tangible outcomes nationwide.
World Bank Task Team Leader for the programme, Ikechukwu John Nweje, urged the government to deploy all available channels to engage state governments and secure their participation.
“Fast-tracking these processes will help get the programme up and running in terms of disbursement,” he said.
Nweje emphasised that weak governance structures remain a major constraint in both sectors, adding that the programme was conceived to address systemic bottlenecks hindering service delivery.
“If the governance part fails, we will continue to have the same problems… governance is the issue that will unlock the ability to deliver results,” he said.
Also speaking, National Coordinator of the programme, Assad Hassan, said the meeting reviewed implementation progress, milestones, and existing challenges.
The HOPE Governance Programme, domiciled in the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, forms part of broader reform efforts by the Federal Government to strengthen public sector delivery systems and improve outcomes in critical social sectors.
