World bank to states: Build strong institutions like Lagos, Edo, benefit from our loans

BENIN CITY—The World Bank has assured other
states in Nigeria that they can enjoy the loan facility
granted to Lagos and Edo states if they embark on
reforms that will build strong  and lasting institutions that
will endure successive governments.

The World Bank through the bank’s Country Director
for Nigeria, Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly, who stated
this in a statement backing the 75 million dollars World
Bank loan to Edo State which was approved on April
29, 2015, said: “We expect that this budget support to
Edo, like that granted to Lagos State earlier, will have
a positive demonstration effect on other states in Nigeria
by inspiring them to take on important reforms to build
strong systems and institutions that will endure over
successive governments”.

While urging the states to work hard in the area of
transparency and accountability to enjoy loan facility,
the bank pointed out that “ Edo state is strengthening its
financial management information system for budget
management, strengthening the alignment of the state’s
annual budget to the strategic priorities of the government
as well as improving financial accountability through
timely audits and publication of the state government’s
audited financial accounts.

“The programme will also ensure professionalization of
the state’s procurement function to improve the
management of public procurement in the state. In the
area of education, one key reform undertaken by Edo
state is the strengthening of governance at the basic
education level through the involvement of the established
school-Based Management Committees in the monitoring
of teacher and pupil attendance at schools” it stated.

Also speaking, the Task Team Leader for the
Operation, Gloria Joseph-Raji, said “Development
policy financing is an instrument which the Bank uses to
support client governments to reduce poverty sustainably
through a programme of policy and institutional reforms.”