33 States and FCT Sign Up for $750m SABER Program
…28 States Receive Initial Disbursements
By Patience Ikpeme
Thirty-three states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have signed the Subsidiary Loan Agreement (SLA) for the States Action on Business Enabling Reforms (SABER) Program, this is according to Mrs. Lydia Shehu Jafiya, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance.
Speaking at the 2025 National Sensitization Workshop on the SABER program in Abuja, Mrs. Jafiya revealed that 28 states received between $1 million and $4 million each in prior results disbursements, totaling $68.36 million.
The SABER program, a $750 million initiative funded by the World Bank, aims to incentivize states to implement crucial reforms that improve the business environment.
It focuses on key areas such as land administration, regulatory frameworks for private investment in fiber optic deployment, services provided by investment promotion agencies and public-private partnership units, and the efficiency and transparency of government-to-business services.
Mrs. Jafiya announced that arrangements have been finalized with an Independent Verification Firm to conduct the 2023 and 2024 performance assessments.
She emphasized that lessons learned from the States Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS) program have significantly improved performance under SABER, leading to greater transparency in business relations with government, optimized processes for land acquisition, strengthened Grievance Redress Mechanisms (GRM), enhanced collaboration between Public Private Partnership (PPP) frameworks, and reduced costs of investment in fiber optic deployment.
Bertine Kamphuis, Programme Leader, Equitable Growth, Finance and Institutions of the World Bank, highlighted feedback from states indicating a need for more technical assistance, including face-to-face sessions and smaller, more focused technical group meetings.
She affirmed that all states in Nigeria have the capacity to implement these reforms, emphasizing that the program is designed to attract more private investment.
“There’s no state in Nigeria that doesn’t have the capacity to do these reforms. This is about attracting more private investments to your states. It’s for all states that want to do meaningful reforms in the areas that we’ve identified together as being important for attracting investments,” Kamphuis stated.
Dr. Ali Mohammed, Programme Coordinator of the SABER Program, explained that the $750 million budget covers not only the Program-for-Results (P4R) component, which directly incentivizes states based on verified results, but also capacity building for state officials and implementing partners.
“About $750 million has been designed for this programme… meant for the states and also to ensure that the capacity of our populace is being enhanced at the state level so that they will be able to implement the programme diligently,” Dr. Mohammed explained.
He clarified that the funds are not solely for P4R disbursements but also support the implementation and capacity building aspects of the program.
The workshop aimed to further enhance the capacity of states to undertake the necessary reforms to meet Disbursement Linked Indicators/Results (DLIs/DLRs) and Eligibility Criteria (EC).
The SABER program builds on the success of the SFTAS program, which made significant strides in promoting transparency and accountability in fiscal governance at the sub-national level.
The SABER program’s three-year (2023-2025) timeline will see disbursements made to states upon annual verification by an Independent Verification Agent (IVA) confirming successful implementation of the agreed reforms.
