World Bank-backed HOPE-GOV trains 388 state officials on 2027 budget planning
- The HOPE Governance Programme trained 388 officials from the 36 states and the FCT on linking health and education plans to budgets.
- The month-long workshop ends on November 4, timed to match states' ongoing 2027 budget preparations.
- The $500 million World Bank-assisted programme offers states incentives for meeting its budget-alignment target.
About 388 officials drawn from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory are being trained on how to tie their budgets to real plans for basic education and primary healthcare.
The month-long workshop is run by the HOPE Governance Programme, a US$500 million World Bank-assisted initiative based at the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning. It is designed to tackle governance, financing, transparency and accountability problems that hold back basic education and primary healthcare delivery.
According to a statement by the programme's communications officer, Joe Mutah, the four-batch training will conclude on Wednesday, 4 November 2026.
Why it matters to ordinary Nigerians
The point of the exercise is simple: money meant for classrooms and health centres should show up where Nigerians can see it. The training is helping states cost their priorities, map and geo-tag projects, and match their sector workplans to the money actually available.
Participants include state permanent secretaries for budget and planning, chairmen of State Universal Basic Education Boards, heads of state primary health care development agencies, state directors of budget, and desk officers of the Sector-Wide Approach Coordination Office.
The National Coordinator, Dr Assad Hassan, said in Abuja on Monday that the timing was deliberate, coming as states prepare their 2027 budgets. He said the aim is to make sure state budgets line up with the National Chart of Accounts under the programme's Disbursement-Linked Indicator 2.
"A good plan without a budget is an aspiration; a budget without a plan is an invitation to inefficiency," Hassan said. He added that every naira allocated should be tied to a clearly defined priority.
The Permanent Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Dr Deborah Odoh, said bringing senior state officials into the room was meant to ensure the technical work turns into real decisions that improve budgeting and implementation.
The World Bank's task team lead for the programme, Mr Ikechukwu Nweje, said states stand to receive significant incentives once they meet the DLI 2 target, and restated the bank's commitment to supporting governance reforms in the states.
What happens next
The final batch of the workshop closes on 4 November, as states continue preparing their 2027 budgets.