The Nigerian government has announced plans to intensify collaboration with the 36 state governments to participate in the $500 million World Bank-supported loan facility under the HOPE Governance Program.

This was disclosed on Thursday by Joe Mutah, spokesperson for the scheme.

Commenting on the initiative, Dr. Deborah Odoh, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, said the ministry is working closely with the Federal Ministry of Finance to ensure that all states sign the Subsidiary Loan Agreement. This will enable them to access and benefit from the World Bank-assisted HOPE Governance Program.

Dr. Odoh made the remarks in Abuja on Wednesday while receiving the HOPE Governance Team from the World Bank during a courtesy visit to her office.

“We have been strategizing with the Federal Ministry of Finance, with the involvement of our Honourable Minister, Sen. Abubakar Atiku Bagudu. We are committed to putting in extra effort to expedite the process given the time constraints. A timeline has recently been drawn up to achieve this,” she said.

She pledged full institutional support to ensure the HOPE Governance Program delivers meaningful results across the country.

“I’m glad we are having this long-overdue meeting. We are committed and expect to see tangible results and impact shortly,” Dr. Odoh added.

Ikechukwu Nweje, World Bank Task Team Leader for the HOPE Governance Program, urged the Permanent Secretary to use all available channels within the Ministry to engage state governments and secure the signing of the agreement. This would allow states to access program funds upon verification of the Disbursement-Linked Results.

“Any support to fast-track these processes will be greatly appreciated to get the program operational in terms of disbursement,” he said.

He emphasized that governance remains a critical challenge to improving service delivery in basic education and primary healthcare, which prompted the federal government and the World Bank to launch the HOPE Governance Program.

“If governance fails, the sectoral challenges will persist. That’s why ministers prioritized governance—they recognized it as the key factor that will unlock results in these two critical sectors,” Nweje explained.

Dr. Assad Hassan, National Coordinator of the HOPE Governance Program, noted that the meeting was convened to update the Permanent Secretary on the milestones achieved and the challenges encountered in the program’s implementation so far.