By Joseph Erunke, Abuja

The National Coordinator of the World Bank-supported HOPE Governance Programme, Dr. Assad Hassan, has urged governments at all levels to take advantage of concessional loans from the World Bank to strengthen institutions and sustain governance reforms nationwide.

Speaking on Tuesday in Enugu at the HOPE Governance South East Implementation Support Mission convened by the World Bank, Dr. Hassan said the success of reform programmes depends not only on access to funding but on governments’ ability to institutionalise and sustain the gains.

“In as much as the bank is a significant partner in this, they are gracious enough to give us soft loans, concessionary loans, but I think the onus is on us to make sure that at the end of the day, we see how we can sustain these programs,” he said.

A statement to this effect by Joe Mutah, Communication Officer, HOPE Governance Program, said Dr. Hassan explained that the HOPE Governance Programme was designed to strengthen governance systems in basic education and primary healthcare, with the aim of improving service delivery and achieving measurable results.

He noted that while Nigeria has benefited from previous World Bank-funded reform initiatives, the real challenge remains ensuring that such reforms are sustained and translated into tangible governance outcomes.

“What next? I think that question behooves us to look at ourselves in the mirror. What have we done after the precursor to this programme — SFTAS? Did we just receive the incentives and move on?” he asked.

The National Coordinator stressed that state governments must reform their systems and institutions as a proof of concept capable of attracting further support and interventions from multilateral agencies.

He also commended the Enugu State Government for what he described as far-reaching reforms in the management of basic education and primary healthcare.

In his remarks, the World Bank Task Team Lead for the HOPE Governance Programme, Mr. Ikechukwu Nweje, said the Bank deliberately adopted the Programme-for-Results model to help state governments build the capacity of their workforce and sustain reform efforts.

Nweje assured participating states of continued technical support from the World Bank in implementing the programme, adding that the National Programme Coordination Unit would also engage consultants to deepen technical assistance.

The South East Implementation Support Mission, which drew participants from states across the region, was declared open by the Secretary to the Enugu State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, on behalf of Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah.