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ABUJA – A coalition of civil society organisations in Ebonyi State has accused the state government of failing to meet governance and public financial management standards required to qualify for a $27 million performance-based incentive under the World Bank-supported HOPE Governance Programme.
Addressing journalists in Abakaliki on Thursday, the coalition, led by Professor Joseph Agbo, said the state’s inability to access the funding reflected broader weaknesses in fiscal transparency, accountability and public financial management, rather than merely missing administrative deadlines.
The group, which comprises the Human Rights Volunteer Corps (HRVC), Human Rights Action Group and Good Living Initiative (GLI), described the development as a missed opportunity for a state it said faces significant development challenges, particularly in education and primary healthcare.
According to the coalition, the World Bank’s $500 million HOPE Governance Programme rewards states that demonstrate measurable improvements in governance, transparency and institutional reforms, with incentive grants tied to performance in public financial management, basic education and primary healthcare.
“It is no longer news that Ebonyi State missed out on the $27 million World Bank-supported HOPE Governance Programme. Investigations have shown that the State failed to meet the required performance targets and reform deadlines for education, primary healthcare, and public financial management,” the coalition stated.
It noted that Ebonyi was among the states that did not qualify for the incentive grant, adding that it was the only state in the South-East, apart from Anambra, that failed to access the funding.
The coalition argued that the loss of the grant was particularly unfortunate given Ebonyi’s socio-economic realities.
“Whereas, the $500 million World Bank initiative is a reward programme that basically requires States to prove they are transparent and hit specific reform targets before receiving funds meant to improve basic education and primary healthcare, it is a painful irony that Ebonyi which remains the poverty capital of the entire Southern Nigeria and also the third poorest State in Nigeria according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS failed the leadership tests and criteria that could have enhanced growth in its struggling education, health and other sectors,” it said.
The coalition alleged that the state fell short of several governance benchmarks, including failure to publish key budget documents within stipulated timelines, incomplete fiscal disclosures and inability to satisfy independent performance assessors.
It further criticised what it described as the government’s emphasis on promoting its “People’s Charter of Needs” agenda while citizens sought explanations for the state’s inability to secure the grant.
According to the group, its independent review relied on publicly available reports from BudgIT, the Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC), the Ebonyi State Government, the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) and other sources.
Among its findings, the coalition cited concerns over declining fiscal transparency, incomplete public financial reporting, weak citizen accountability mechanisms, rising public debt, increasing debt servicing obligations, slow capital budget implementation, heavy reliance on federal allocations and procurement-related governance risks.
It noted that BudgIT’s State Fiscal Transparency League ranked Ebonyi 27th nationally in the fourth quarter of 2023 after identifying the non-publication of critical fiscal documents, including the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, Citizens Budget and audit reports. Although the state’s ranking improved in 2024, the coalition said concerns persisted regarding the timeliness and completeness of fiscal disclosures.
The group also referenced Ebonyi’s Debt Sustainability Analysis, which showed that public debt rose significantly before moderating to about ₦136 billion by the end of 2024, while debt servicing obligations increased sharply during the period. It added that official budget implementation reports indicated relatively low execution of capital projects despite approved appropriations.
While stressing that its findings should not be interpreted as proof of corruption, the coalition maintained that they pointed to systemic institutional weaknesses requiring urgent reforms.
“Our overall assessment is that the strongest verified concern regarding Ebonyi State’s public financial management since 2023 is not simply allegations of theft or corruption. Rather, the available evidence points to a broader pattern of weak fiscal governance, characterized by transparency gaps, incomplete public financial reporting, debt-management pressures, weak capital budget execution, procurement-risk indicators, and heavy dependence on federal allocations,” it stated.
It added: “The lesson we uncovered here is very simple: International development partners increasingly reward measurable governance performance, institutional credibility, transparency accountability, and demonstrated reform – not rhetoric.”
The coalition urged Governor Francis Nwifuru’s administration to place greater emphasis on governance reforms than political messaging.
“Consequently, we beckon on the Nwifuru-led administration to reduce the numbers of its 4+4=8 billboards scattered across every length and breadth of the State and focus more on governance. We equally call on him to investigate the activities of touts in the revenue collection in the State by his brothers and kinsmen which has scared away many investors from the State,” it said.
The coalition called for comprehensive reforms aimed at strengthening fiscal governance, improving procurement integrity, enhancing budget implementation, boosting internally generated revenue and expanding public access to fiscal information.
“This coalition therefore calls for strengthening of fiscal governance, improving procurement integrity, enhancing budget execution, increasing internally generated revenue, and expanding public access to fiscal information would significantly improve accountability, institutional credibility, and public confidence in the management of Ebonyi State’s finances.”
The World Bank’s HOPE Governance Programme is designed to support Nigerian states in improving governance systems and service delivery by linking financial incentives to measurable reforms in public financial management, education and primary healthcare. States that satisfy prescribed performance indicators become eligible for performance-based grants intended to strengthen service delivery and institutional capacity.
