The Federal Government has disbursed the sum of N43,416,000,000.00 (USD120.6 million) to 24 states of the federation through performance-based grants under the World Bank-Assisted States Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS) Programme.

Kaduna State achieved the highest number of results (nine) and got the highest share with N3. 960 billion, while Katsina and Benue got the lowest amount of N540 million each.

SFTAS is wholly-financed with a loan of $750 million from the International Development Association (IDA), a member of the World Bank Group.

Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed who disclosed this on Wednesday through a statement signed by ministry’s Director of Press and Public Relations, Mr Hassan Dodo explained that the disbursement followed the participation of the eligible states in the recent Annual Performance Assessment (APA) carried out by the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation (OAuGF) as the Independent Verification Agent (IVA) in collaboration with a third-party firm, JK Consulting Limited and the SFTAS Programme Coordination Unit (PCU).

She noted that in 2018, which was the first year of the programme, only 24 states met the criteria as others failed to publish their annual budgets and audited financial statements online within the time frame stipulated by the SFTAS Programme Operation Manual (POM).

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The 24 states were said to have achieved: improved financial reporting and budget reliability; increased openness and citizens’ engagement in the budget process; improved cash management and reduced revenue leakages through the implementation of State Treasury Single Account (TSA); strengthened Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) collection; biometric registration and Bank Verification Number (BVN) used to reduce payroll fraud.

The 24 beneficiary states who were: Abia, Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Delta, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Niger, Ondo, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Sokoto, Taraba and Yobe states.

The 12 that missed out on the 2018 grants are Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Borno, Cross River, Ebonyi, Imo, Lagos, Nasarawa, Plateau, Rivers and Zamfara states, the statement stated while adding that they can participate in 2019, 2020 and 2021 respective performance years by meeting the EC and DLIs in the said years.

“The total sum of $120.6 million (N43,416,000,000.00) has thus far been disbursed to the qualified 24 states based on their performance.”