Abdulwahab Isa 
Transisting from States Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS) programme to States Action on Business Enabling Reforms (SABER), 33 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have signed the Subsidiary Loan Agreement (SLA) SABER Programme.
Permanent Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Finance, Mrs. Lydia Shehu Jafiya, confirmed the update at the World Bank’s 2025 National Sensitisation Workshop on the SABER program in Abuja.
She said that 28 states received between $1 million and $4 million each in prior results disbursements, totaling $68.36 million.
The SABER programme, a $750 million initiative funded by the World Bank, aims to incentivise 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.
Jafiya announced that arrangements had been finalised with an independent verification firm to conduct the 2023 and 2024 performance assessments.
She underscored the lessons learned from the States Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS) programme, adding that it 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.
