By Barbara Nwaiwu
The National Universities Commission (NUC) has announced that no fewer than 24,000 Nigerians will benefit from a $65 million financing package approved under the World Bank supported Sustainable Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards Enhancement (SPESSE) project.
The Executive Secretary of the NUC, Prof. Abdullahi Ribadu, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja during the signing of performance contracts for the new phase of the SPESSE project.
He explained that the additional funding would strengthen capacity building in procurement, environmental management and social standards across public and private institutions in the country.
Ribadu said the intervention was designed to consolidate the achievements of the initial $80 million SPESSE project which became operational in 2021 to address the shortage of skilled professionals in governance and development-related sectors.
“With the support of the World Bank and under the coordination of the NUC, six centres of excellence were established across the six geopolitical zones to provide sustainable capacity building in these critical sectors.”
He noted that the centres were promoting inclusiveness across the country while producing manpower needed to support transparency, environmental responsibility and inclusive development.
Ribadu described the signing of the performance contracts as a renewed commitment to accountability, sustainability and institutional excellence.
Ribadu further stated that the centres had recorded significant milestones, including the introduction of specialised academic programmes ranging from short courses to undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, alongside investments in digital learning infrastructure and research facilities.
He added that the new phase of the project targets at least 60 PhD graduates, the enrolment of 60 foreign students, staff internship opportunities and expanded exchange programmes with international institutions.
Also speaking, the Director General of the Bureau of Public Procurement, Dr. Adebowale Adedokun, said more than 2,700 officers from the public and private sectors had already been trained under the project to improve procurement competence nationwide.
Adedokun explained that the next phase would support the implementation of Nigeria’s electronic procurement system and expand online training programmes for policymakers and small and medium scale enterprises handling public funds.
The World Bank task team leader for SPESSE, Ishtiak Siddique, said over 40,000 participants had been trained under the original project, while more than 4,000 people were certified in procurement, environmental and social standards.
Siddique said the fresh financing would focus on strengthening the capacity of federal, state and local government institutions to improve development outcomes.
He added that sustainability remained central to the initiative to ensure continuity beyond donor funding.
Meanwhile, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, reaffirmed the institution’s commitment to strengthening professional capacity under the SPESSE framework.
Ogunsola pledged to deepen postgraduate training, strengthen institutional ownership and promote international collaborations under the programme.