Kwara Receives $85.4m World Bank Fund, Enrols 2,390 Out-of-School Children

The Kwara State Government has secured a $85.4 million fund from the World Bank, aimed at supporting various developmental initiatives across the State.

Hauwa Nuhu, Commissioner for Finance, states this during the first quarter 2025 Ministerial briefing held in Ilorin, the State capital.

She assured that the funds, once disbursed, would be judiciously utilised to drive development across key sectors.

“Kwara participated in the World Bank’s NG-CARES programme and performed excellently, which earned us this opportunity. “Our efforts were thoroughly assessed and approved, and we are now awaiting the disbursement of the $85.4 million.

“We’ve impacted many lives through our initiatives. Our performance was evaluated, and the result is this remarkable approval,” she posited.

According to her, the State has made significant investments across all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), particularly in agriculture, Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises (SMEs), education, infrastructure among other areas.

Nuhu also revealed that Kwara State had achieved a 16% increase in internally-generated revenue (IGR) through tax reforms, adding that the Government spends approximately N6 million monthly on civil servant salaries, paying workers promptly without owing any arrears.

She credited Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq’s visionary leadership and strategic interventions for creating an enabling environment for growth across sectors in the state pledging that, “our ministry will continue to strengthen partnerships to facilitate development, enhance ease of doing business, build capacity, and improve the lives of Kwarans.”

In a related development, Shehu Adaramaja, a Professor of Education, who is the Chairman of the Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), highlighted key strides in the education sector.

He revealed that the Agency recently received 183 digital tablets to enhance e-learning. These tablets, he said, had been distributed to learning centres in Kaiama, Owode-Ofa, and LGEA Ote, with each centre receiving 61 devices.

Adaramaja also noted that during the last school holidays, SUBEB’s social mobilisation efforts led to the enrolment of 2,390 out-of-school children into schools.

He said the Board had also trained teaching and non-teaching staff, constructed new classrooms, drilled boreholes, and provided teaching materials.

“In February 2025, we procured and distributed 69,690 instructional materials in core subjects such as Mathematics, English Language, Science, and Technology,” he said.

“Our advocacy and sensitisation campaigns across the state have helped reduce the number of out-of-school children significantly”, he added.

Earlier, Bola Olukoju, Commissioner for Communications, said the Ministerial Briefing was aimed at informing the public of the Government’s ongoing commitment and achievements in socio-economic development, inclusive governance, and service delivery.