The National Universities Commission (NUC) on Wednesday signed additional performance contracts worth $65 million with the vice-chancellors of six participating universities under the World Bank-supported Sustainable Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards Enhancement (SPESSE) Project.
The signing ceremony, held in Abuja, brought together officials of the NUC, the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), the World Bank, participating universities, and other stakeholders.
The SPESSE project, launched in 2021 with an initial $80 million World Bank facility, was designed to strengthen Nigeria’s capacity in procurement, environmental, and social governance through specialised university-based training programmes.
Speaking at the event, the Executive Secretary of the NUC, Prof. Abdullahi Ribadu, described the additional financing phase as “a new chapter” in efforts to deepen Nigeria’s institutional capacity in procurement, environmental, and social standards.
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Full list of participating universities under SPESSE
- Ahmadu Bello University
- University of Benin
- Federal University of Technology Owerri
- University of Lagos
- Lagos State University
- University of Maiduguri
“This phase marks not only a continuation of the initiative, but also a renewed opportunity to consolidate achievements, scale impacts, and deepen sustainability measures across the participating institutions,” Ribadu said.
He explained that the SPESSE project was conceived to address the shortage of skilled professionals in procurement, environmental, and social safeguards, as well as the limited availability of specialised academic programmes in those fields within Nigerian universities.
“The project was conceived to address a critical gap in the Nigerian university system — insufficient supply of skilled professionals in procurement, environmental and social safeguards, as well as the limited availability of specialised academic programmes in these fields,” he said.
Ribadu disclosed that six centres of excellence were established across the country’s geopolitical zones under the coordination of the NUC and with support from the World Bank.
According to him, the centres are helping to produce skilled manpower required to promote transparency, environmental responsibility, and socially inclusive development.
“Today, these institutions are playing a strategic role in producing the skilled manpower required to support transparency, environmental responsibility, and socially inclusive development in Nigeria and beyond,” he stated.
The NUC boss said the project had recorded significant milestones since becoming operational in 2021, including the development of curricula for short courses, postgraduate diplomas, master’s degrees, and undergraduate programmes.
“Resource verification exercises have enabled the centres to mount postgraduate diplomas, master’s, and bachelor’s programmes, while investments in high-performance computing infrastructure, learning management systems, live-streaming facilities, and digital learning platforms have strengthened teaching, learning, and research across the centres,” he said.
Ribadu added that some centres had begun admitting foreign students, while more than 68 international partnerships had been established.
He further revealed that certification protocols for procurement, environmental, and social standards were developed and activated in 2025 by the Bureau of Public Procurement, the Federal Ministry of Environment, and the Federal Ministry of Women’s Affairs, respectively.
The NUC executive secretary disclosed that three of the six centres had already commenced PhD programmes, while the remaining three were expected to begin in the next academic session starting in July 2026.
“I am proud to inform you that this has already been actualised, with the commencement of PhD programmes by three of the six centres, and the remaining three set to commence the next academic session beginning in July 2026,” he said.
Ribadu also outlined fresh targets under the new financing phase, including the production of at least 60 PhD graduates, admission of no fewer than 60 foreign students, 18 staff internships, and at least 60 international student exchange programmes.
He disclosed that The Gambia had already expressed interest in sending citizens to the centres for training.
“We already have an expression of interest from The Gambia to send some of their citizens to the centres, and I urge the vice-chancellors to take advantage of this opportunity,” he said.
On the impact of the project, Ribadu said it had strengthened capacity building, research infrastructure, and internationalisation within participating universities.
He added that the additional financing would deepen achievements recorded during the first phase of the project and place more emphasis on sustainability, environmental standards, and procurement reforms.
“This one is now building on the achievements of the first phase. It will further deepen and expand the specific projects. Unlike the first phase, which served as a template, this phase will focus on specific areas of sustainability, environment, and procurement,” he said.
Ribadu also disclosed that electronic procurement would become a major component of the programme.
“The government intends to ensure that all procurements in the future are done electronically, and this funding framework will support that transition,” he added.
The Task Team Leader of the SPESSE Project at the World Bank, Ishtiak Siddique, described the initiative as one of the bank’s most significant partnerships with Nigeria.
According to him, although the World Bank currently operates a $17 billion portfolio in Nigeria, the SPESSE project remains particularly strategic because it cuts across multiple sectors.
“If you want to carry out development activities in any country or deliver public services effectively, procurement, environmental, and social standards are critical,” Siddique said.
He confirmed that the newly approved additional financing package amounted to $65 million and was built on the success of the initial $80 million SPESSE programme.
Siddique disclosed that more than 40,000 people had already been trained under the initiative.
“More than 40,000 people have been trained already in these three standards, which is a major achievement,” he said.
He added that an additional 24,000 people, particularly from critical public institutions, would be trained under the new financing phase.
Siddique also announced plans for the implementation of a fully integrated electronic procurement system at the federal level, with eventual expansion to states.
“The way it is being designed, it takes advantage of emerging technologies such as machine learning and artificial intelligence to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of public procurement,” he said.
The Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement, Adebowale Adedokun, said the bureau remained committed to producing procurement officers who are both academically and professionally competent.
According to him, over 2,700 officers from federal, state, and local government MDAs, as well as the private sector, had already been trained and certified under the programme.
Adedokun added that the additional financing phase would support the deployment of the government’s electronic procurement platform and expand online capacity-building programmes for small and medium-scale enterprises.
The Vice-Chancellor of Lagos State University, Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, said the project had significantly strengthened institutional systems and learning infrastructure.
“Before this, we had nothing in terms of procurement training. We didn’t have social standards or environmental standards programmes,” she said.
