The Federal Government, in partnership with the World Bank, has launched a fresh $65 million funding phase of the Sustainable Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards Enhancement (SPESSE) project aimed at benefiting more than 24,000 Nigerians through professional training and institutional capacity development.

The initiative, coordinated by the National Universities Commission, is designed to strengthen procurement systems, environmental management and social standards across public and private institutions, while promoting transparency, accountability and sustainable development practices nationwide.

Executive Secretary of the Commission, Abdullahi Ribadu, disclosed this in Abuja during the signing of performance contracts for the additional SPESSE financing. He explained that the intervention builds on the gains of the initial $80 million SPESSE project, which became effective in 2021.

According to Ribadu, the programme has significantly improved institutional frameworks and developed professional expertise in key governance sectors. He noted that the initiative was introduced to address the shortage of qualified professionals in procurement, environmental management and social standards within both public and private institutions.

He said: “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”.

Ribadu stated that the participating universities were selected through a transparent and competitive process based on institutional readiness, quality assurance and sustainability.

He added that the institutions have continued to produce skilled manpower capable of advancing transparency, environmental responsibility and inclusive national development.

He described the contract signing ceremony as a renewed commitment to accountability, sustainability and institutional excellence, noting that the centres have recorded major achievements, including the introduction of specialised academic programmes ranging from short courses to undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.

The NUC boss further disclosed that three of the six centres have already commenced PhD programmes, while the remaining centres are expected to begin by July 2026.

He added that under the new funding phase, the Commission targets at least 60 PhD graduates, enrolment of 60 foreign students, staff internships and expanded student exchange programmes with international institutions.

Also speaking, the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement, Adebowale Adedokun, said the project has so far trained more than 2,700 officers from both the public and private sectors to improve procurement competence nationwide.

He said the next phase would support the rollout of Nigeria’s electronic procurement system and expand online capacity-building programmes for policymakers and small and medium-scale enterprises involved in managing public funds.

On his part, the World Bank Task Team Leader for SPESSE, Ishtiak Siddique, revealed that more than 40,000 participants had benefited from training under the original project, with over 4,000 certified in procurement, environmental and social standards.

Siddique said the additional funding would focus on strengthening the capacity of federal, state and local government agencies to improve development outcomes and service delivery, stressing that sustainability remained central to ensuring continuity beyond donor support.

For her part, the Vice-Chancellor, University of Lagos, Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, reaffirmed the institution’s commitment to advancing professional capacity development under the SPESSE framework through postgraduate training, institutional ownership and international collaborations.