Nigeria’s drive to strengthen professional skills in procurement and environmental standards has received a major boost as the World Bank rated the Sustainable Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards Enhancement (SPESSE) project “satisfactory” and approved additional financing to sustain its progress.
Backed by the Federal Government of Nigeria and implemented through the National Universities Commission (NUC), the SPESSE initiative was created to address a long-standing shortage of skilled professionals and the lack of structured academic pathways in procurement and environmental safeguards across the public and private sectors.
Since its launch, the project has delivered coordinated training programmes through six Centres of Excellence located across Nigeria’s geopolitical zones, helping to produce a new generation of professionals aligned with global best practices. These centres are hosted by leading institutions, including Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi; Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi; Federal University of Technology, Owerri; University of Benin; and the University of Lagos.
The World Bank reaffirmed its confidence during a recent Implementation Support Mission (ISM), which assessed progress under the original financing and mapped out next steps under the Additional Financing window. According to the mission’s Aide Memoire, all four Project Development Objective indicators have been fully achieved, while overall implementation progress was rated satisfactory for the January–June 2025 review period. Independent verification also confirmed that 12 of the 18 Performance-Based Conditions have already been met or exceeded.
Stakeholders across key ministries and agencies, including the Bureau of Public Procurement, commended the project’s strong performance, noting that such ratings are rare among donor-funded programmes. In response to the gains recorded, the World Bank approved fresh funding to extend SPESSE until June 2026, with plans to deepen procurement reforms, expand digital learning platforms, and strengthen institutional capacity. Notably, the Bureau of Public Procurement has also begun steps to make SPESSE courses mandatory for the professional certification of all procurement officers, a move expected to lock in long-term benefits for Nigeria’s economy.
source: Leadership