Procurement of Independent Verification Services — Nigeria Hope Program

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REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

(CONSULTING SERVICES – FIRM SELECTION)

NIGERIA HUMAN CAPITAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR PROSPERITY AND EQUITY (HOPE) PROGRAM

CREDIT NO.: IDA-76400

ASSIGNMENT TITLE: ENGAGEMENT OF A FIRM AS AN INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION AGENT FOR THE HOPE GOVERNANCE (HOPE-GOV), HOPE EDUCATION (HOPE-bed) AND PRIMARY HEALTHCARE PROVISION STRENGTHENING (HOPE-PHC) Programs IN ALL THE 36 STATES INCLUDING THE FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY

REFERENCE NO.: NG-MOFBUDGET ECON PLAN-521609-CS-QCBS

The National Program Coordinating Units (NPCUs) of the Nigeria Human Capital Opportunities for Prosperity and Equity – Governance (HOPE GOV) Program under the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning; the HOPE-Primary Health Care (HOPE PHC) under the Federal Ministry of Health & Social Welfare; and HOPE-Basic Education (HOPE-BED) under the Federal Ministry of Education have received financing from the World Bank to assist implementation of the Program. The NPCUs intends to apply a portion of these funds toward the engagement of the above-referenced consulting service.

The consulting services (“the Services”) will entail Independent Verification of the HOPE-GOV, HOPE-BED, and HOPE PHC programs. The Independent Verification Agent (IVA) in collaboration with the NPCUs will develop a program verification plan and update same on an ongoing basis. The plan will set out in detail and in summary the proposed timelines and activities to verify performance across Federal entities, participating States and FCT for all the Disbursement Link Indicators (DLIs) as well as the responsible parties (including the NPCUs, the IVA, and the World Bank) involved in the execution of various tasks within the plan.

The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment can be found at the following link: https://nationalplanning.gov.ng/UHSource_Info/7/HOPE-IVA-TOR

The NPCUs now invites eligible consulting firms (“Consultants”) to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested firms should provide information demonstrating that they have the required qualifications and relevant experience to perform the Services.

The short-listing criteria are:

The IVA will be a reputable consulting firm, or consortium of firms, with a lead firm having a minimum of 15 years operational existence as an organization

Minimum of two similar assignments in the last 10 years.

Demonstrated experience in verification/audit as well as M&E exercises, with both desk-and field verification methods.

Deep understanding of governance structures, accountability mechanisms, and financial management systems in the public sector.

Experience in assessing and strengthening transparency and accountability in the management of financial and human resources.

In-depth knowledge of the primary healthcare and basic education sectors, including their specific challenges, regulatory frameworks, and best practices.

Familiarity with the Nigerian context and the operational environment of the HOPE Programs.

Demonstrated experience working in virtual work/desk research environment.

Comprehensive knowledge and understanding of controls within an IT environment, including experience and competence in managing, storing, filing data electronically.

Persons carrying out the tasks should be fluent in English.

Key experts to be proposed for the methodology of implementation may not be included in the EOI, as these will not be evaluated at this short-listing stage.

The attention of interested firms is drawn to paragraph 3.13 and 3.14 of the World Bank’s Procurement regulation for IPF Borrower, seventh edition, September 2025, setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest.

To perform the required verification tasks, the IVA shall be a firm or a consortium of firms. In the case of a Consortium, which shall not be more than three (3) firms, the profile of each of the firms shall be submitted in the proposal,

The Consulting firm will be selected in accordance with the Quality and Cost Based Selection (QCBS) method set out in the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers (Sixth edition, February 2025).

Submissions must be submitted in PDF format only and delivered either by email to [email protected] OR delivered in hard copy to the address below no later than 16:00 hours (local time) on 27th February 2026. Submissions received after this deadline shall be rejected and returned unopened. The Program shall not be responsible for submissions that are misdirected, misplaced, or delivered to an incorrect address.

The Procurement Officer,

Nigeria Human Capital Opportunities for Prosperity and Equity – Governance

(HOPE-GOV) Program

Second Floor, Room 218, Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning,

Plot C31010, Adekunle Fajuyi Street,

Central Business District, Abuja.

Telephone: +234 8036410739

TERMS OF REFERENCE

For

ENGAGEMENT OF A FIRM AS INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION AGENT OF THE HOPE GOVERNANCE (HOPE-GOV), PRIMARY HEALTHCARE PROVISION STRENGTHENING (HOPE-PHC) AND QUALITY PRIMARY EDUCATION FOR ALL (HOPE-EDU) PROGRAMS

• BACKGROUND

The Human Capital Opportunities for Prosperity and Equity (HOPE) Program is a Federal Government of Nigeria (World Bank supported) comprehensive initiative designed to address critical challenges in the primary healthcare and basic education sectors in Nigeria. The program is structured around three interdependent operations:

HOPE-Governance (HOPE-GOV): A USD500 million Program for Results (PforR) operation that addresses cross-cutting governance issues, related to financial and human resource management in the education and health sectors. The Program aims to improve governance, budget credibility, fiscal transparency, procurement practices, human resource management (HRM) and payroll integrity in these sectors. Building upon the achievements of the Federal Government of Nigeria (World Bank supported) State Fiscal Transparency, Accountability, and Sustainability (SFTAS) Program for Results (PforR), HOPE-GOV will strengthen the upstream requirements necessary for better service delivery in primary healthcare and basic education. Specifically, the Program will deepen these reforms through a detailed and disaggregated focus on the basic education and primary healthcare sectors, following the fiscal management chain from planning and budgeting, as well as HRM, through downstream implementation, reporting, and oversight. Currently, all 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are eligible and have indicated interest in participating in the program. It includes three results areas in which financial rewards are disbursed against the achievement of results.

Results Area (RA) 1: Increased availability and effectiveness of financing for basic education and primary healthcare service delivery.

Results Area (RA) 2: Enhanced transparency and accountability for basic education and primary healthcare financing.

Results Area (RA) 3: Improved recruitment, deployment and performance management of basic education teachers and primary healthcare workers by federal, state and local governments.

HOPE-Primary Healthcare (HOPE PHC): A USD 570 million PforR dedicated to strengthening Nigeria’s primary healthcare system. It focuses on improving service delivery at the facility level, particularly for quality and accessibility. The Program Development Objective (PDO) of the HOPE - PHC is to improve utilization, of quality essential healthcare services and health system resilience in the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Currently all 36 States and the FCT are also eligible and have indicated interest in participating in the program. Just like the HOPE GOV component, three Results areas are tied to the eleven Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIs) in HOPE PHC namely:

Results Area (RA) 1 – improving quality of service

Results Area (RA) 2 – improving utilisation of essential services

Results Area (RA) 3 – improving resilience of the health system

HOPE-Basic Education (HOPE-EDU):

A USD 552 million PforR operation that supports the government’s Universal Basic Education (UBEC) program. The operation’s objectives are to improve foundational learning outcomes, increase access to basic education and enhance education systems in participating States. It includes three results areas in which financial rewards are disbursed against the achievement of results.

Results Area (RA) 1 is ‘Improving Quality’, with 3 DLIs. Currently, 33 states and the FCT have indicated they will participate in this RA.

RA2 is ‘Increasing Access’, with 2 DLIs. The number of states that can participate in this RA is capped at 15.

RA3 is ‘Enhancing Key Systems’, with 3 DLIs. This RA covers all 36 states and the FCT.

Table 1: Responsible Ministries

S/No.

Program

National Program Coordinating Unit (NPCU),

1.

HOPE-GOV

Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning

2.

HOPE-PHC

Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare

3.

HOPE-EDU

Federal Ministry of Education

• ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

All 36 States plus the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are eligible for participation in HOPE GOV and HOPE PHC. For HOPE EDU, see tiered States participation by Results Area above.

Table 2: Annual Eligibility Criteria Table for HOPE-GOV Disbursements

Year 0: 2025 partial year

Year 1: 2025

Year 2: 2026

Year 3: 2027

EC-1

FY25 state budget, prepared under national Chart of Accounts, approved by the State Assembly and published online by January 31, 2025.

FY26 state budget, prepared under national Chart of Accounts with program segment for basic education and primary healthcare, approved by the State Assembly and published online by January 31, 2026.

FY27 state budget, prepared under national Chart of Accounts with program segment for basic education and primary healthcare, approved by the State Assembly and published online by January 31, 2027.

FY28