The National Universities Commission, NUC, has announced that no fewer than 24,000 Nigerians are expected to benefit from a new 65 million dollar funding phase of the World Bank-supported Sustainable Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards Enhancement, SPESSE, project.
Executive Secretary of the NUC, Professor Abdullahi Ribadu, disclosed this in Abuja during the signing of performance contracts for the additional SPESSE financing.
According to Ribadu, the new funding phase builds on the success of the initial 80 million dollar SPESSE project which became operational in 2021 and was designed to strengthen Nigeria’s capacity in procurement, environmental management, and social standards across both public and private institutions.
He explained that the initiative was introduced to tackle the shortage of skilled professionals in critical governance and development sectors.
Ribadu revealed that, with support from the World Bank and under the coordination of the NUC, six centres of excellence were established across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones to provide sustainable capacity building in procurement, environmental, and social standards.
He noted that the centres were strategically designed to ensure regional inclusiveness while supporting national development priorities.
The NUC boss explained that participating universities emerged through a rigorous and competitive selection process that assessed institutional readiness, sustainability, and quality assurance standards.
He said the institutions are already playing important roles in producing skilled professionals capable of promoting transparency, environmental responsibility, and inclusive governance across the country.
Describing the contract signing as a renewed commitment to accountability and institutional excellence, Ribadu disclosed that three of the six centres had already commenced PhD programmes, while the remaining centres are expected to begin by July 2026.
Under the additional funding phase, the commission targets at least 60 PhD graduates, the enrolment of 60 foreign students, staff internship programmes, and expanded international student exchange opportunities.
Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement, Dr. Adebowale Adedokun, said the project has already trained more than 2,700 public and private sector officers to improve procurement competence nationwide.
He added that the next phase would support the implementation of Nigeria’s electronic procurement system and expand online training opportunities for policymakers and small and medium-scale enterprises managing public funds.
Also speaking, the World Bank Task Team Leader for SPESSE, Mr. Ishtiak Siddique, disclosed that over 40,000 participants had been trained under the original project, with more than 4,000 already certified in procurement, environmental, and social standards.
Siddique said the new financing would focus heavily on strengthening the capacity of federal, state, and local government institutions to accelerate national development goals.
He stressed that sustainability remains a key objective of the programme to ensure continuity beyond donor support.
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Professor Folasade Ogunsola, also reaffirmed the institution’s commitment to strengthening professional capacity development under the SPESSE framework.
She pledged continued investment in postgraduate training, institutional ownership, and international academic collaboration as part of efforts to deepen the impact of the initiative across Nigeria’s education and governance sectors.
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