The World Bank has explained the reason Edo and Lagos States got their loans approved encouraging other states to do so.Speaking through its Country Director for Nigeria, Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly, the bank urged the states to work hard in the area of transparency and accountability so as to enjoy the loan facility.
“We expect that this budget support to Edo State 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. 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.
These programmes also ensure professionalisation 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,”she said.
In the same vein, the Task Team Leader for the Operation, Gloria Joseph-Raji, said that 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.
“The Edo State Government has shown strong commitment to a credible program of reforms and we look forward to seeing sustenance and further deepening of these reforms,” She said.
