State governments participating in a World Bank–supported reform programme have been given a 30-day deadline after every quarter to publish details of contracts awarded in basic education and primary healthcare, in a fresh push to deepen transparency and accountability in public spending.
The directive was issued under the Human Capital Opportunities for Prosperity and Equity (HOPE-GOV) Programme of the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, with compliance now tied directly to the disbursement of incentive funds to states.
Speaking at the first 2026 Implementation Support Meeting with State Focal Persons, held virtually in Abuja on Monday, the National Coordinator of HOPE-GOV, Assad Hassan, said states must publish contract award information on their official websites to enable independent verification by programme auditors.
A statement issued on Tuesday by the programme’s Communications Officer, Joe Mutah, quoted Hassan as saying that the minimum disclosure requirements include the project name, awarding institution, date of award, contractor’s name and contract value.
“For MDAs without e-procurement systems, Independent Verification Agents will obtain schedules of all contracts awarded above the threshold defined by state procurement laws and confirm whether disclosures on state websites comply with the Open Contracting Data Standard,” he said.
Hassan added that for ministries, departments and agencies operating e-procurement platforms, verification would focus on the functionality of online portals that publish procurement data across the entire contract lifecycle.
“For MDAs with e-procurement, the IVAs will confirm that states have functional online portals that record and publish data on all procurement processes, and that the information released complies with OCDS requirements,” he said.
Beyond procurement transparency, Hassan said states are also required to publish their 2026 citizens’ budgets for basic education and primary healthcare by February 28, 2026.
He explained that the budgets must clearly show revenue sources, including domestic and external grants and loans, total expenditures by government functions, allocations to education and health, as well as spending by programmes linked to economic classifications.
He said other mandatory disclosures include budget frameworks showing total revenue, grants, expenditures, deficits, financing gaps, sectoral and ministerial breakdowns, and lists of major capital projects with their locations.
The HOPE-GOV coordinator further disclosed that states must publish financial and performance audit reports on basic education and primary healthcare submitted to their Houses of Assembly, in line with approved timelines.
In a move aimed at strengthening payroll integrity, Hassan said states are required to complete biometric capture and Bank Verification Number linkage for at least 80 per cent of workers in basic education and primary healthcare to eliminate ghost workers and improve personnel accountability.
He noted that the programme was engaging states to strengthen institutional arrangements to ensure effective implementation and maximise development outcomes.
About 100 participants from across the 36 states took part in the virtual meeting, which was held ahead of the programme’s first-year verification by Independent Verification Agents.
The HOPE-GOV Programme is a results-based initiative supported by the World Bank to incentivise governance reforms and improve service delivery in education and health through transparency, accountability and performance-linked financing.
It aligns with broader federal reforms under the Basic Health Care Provision Fund and the Universal Basic Education framework, aimed at strengthening human capital development and improving outcomes in Nigeria’s social sectors.
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