The National Universities Commission (NUC) has signed an additional $65m deal with the World Bank under the Sustainable Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards Enhancement Project (SPESSE) currently being implemented across Nigerian universities.
million deal with the World Bank under the Sustainable Procurement, Environmental, and Social Standards Enhancement Project (SPESSE),
The SPESSE Project was launched in 2021 with an initial $80m World Bank facility to strengthen Nigeria’s capacity in procurement, environmental, and social governance through specialised training in universities.
As a response to the shortage of skilled professionals required to manage procurement, environmental, and social safeguards in line with international best practices, six entres of excellence were established across Nigeria’s six geo-political zones under the coordination of the NUC and with support from the World Bank.
The participating universities emerged through a competitive selection process that assessed institutional readiness, quality assurance mechanisms, and sustainability plans.
With an additional financing package of $65 million from the World Bank, the SPESSE Project’s total funding portfolio has now risen to $145 million.
The new financing extends implementation to June 2029 and is expected to consolidate earlier gains, while scaling training, institutional infrastructure, and professional certification systems across the country.
The fresh contract was signed on Wednesday at the NUC secretariat in Abuja, signaling the beginning of a more ambitious phase for one of Nigeria’s most strategic higher education and public sector capacity-building initiatives. The event had representatives from participating universities, the World Bank, and the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) in attendance.
According to the National Universities Commission (NUC), the signing is a reaffirmation of a growing national effort to strengthen capacity building in procurement, environmental, and social standards management while positioning Nigerian universities as drivers of professionalisation, institutional reform, and sustainable development.
Speaking at the signing ceremony at NYC headquarters in Abuja, the Executive Secretary of NUC, Professor Abdullahi Yusufu Ribadu, described the new phase as “a new chapter in our collective journey to strengthen Nigeria’s capacity in procurement, environmental, and social standards”.
Since the project became effective in 2021, SPESSE has recorded significant milestones. Academic curricula have been developed across multiple programme tracks, including short courses, advanced certificates, postgraduate diplomas, master’s degrees, and undergraduate programmes (Tracks A, B, C, D, and E) in procurement, environmental standards, and social standards.
More than 40,000 participants have already been trained through Tracks A and B alone, while some universities are now preparing to graduate Nigeria’s first cohort of undergraduate specialists in procurement, environmental, and social standards.
Importantly, three of the six Centres have already commenced PhD programmes, while the remaining three are set to commence by the next academic session beginning in July 2026, reflecting the growing institutional maturity and sustainability of the SPESSE Project.
According to the Executive Secretary, some Centres have already enrolled foreign students as part of broader efforts to internationalise education within the NUS. In addition, the SPESSE Centres have collectively established more than 68 international partnerships to strengthen collaboration in teaching, research, and professional development.
In 2025, certification portals for procurement, environmental, and social standards practitioners were developed and activated by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), the Federal Ministry of Environment (FMEnv), and the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs (FMWA), respectively, to authenticate practitioners and strengthen quality assurance within the sectors.
For the NUC, however, the Additional Financing phase is expected to go beyond sustaining existing achievements. It is designed to deepen institutional ownership, expand online and distance learning opportunities, strengthen collaborations with industry and international partners, and ensure that the Centres become self-sustaining beyond external funding support.
“I am particularly pleased that the sustainability plans developed by the Centres under the first phase of the Project address critical areas such as the commencement of PhD programmes.I am proud to inform you that this is already being actualised, with the commencement of PhD programmes by two of the six Centres,” Professor Ribadu said.
He added that other sustainability measures include the domestication of the Centres within university structures, resource mobilisation strategies, and partnership development frameworks designed to ensure the Centres evolve into enduring hubs of excellence within the NUS.
The Commission has also outlined a new set of ambitious targets for the Additional Financing phase. Across the Project, the Centres are expected to collectively produce at least 60 PhD graduates, enrol no fewer than 60 foreign students, facilitate at least 18 staff internships, and support no less than 60 student exchange programmes with foreign institutions.
Beyond this, the Centres are expected to establish or upgrade functional Open and Distance Learning facilities in their universities and deploy stronger Management Information Systems to improve institutional efficiency and long-term sustainability.
Providing further insight into the broader outlook of the project, the National Project Coordinator, Dr Joshua Atah, noted that all programmes under SPESSE have undergone resource verification and accreditation by the NUC, with the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) formally notified.
He said that in some universities, new departments and faculties have been created specifically for the programmes, while some Centres are already transitioning into full-fledged institutes.
Dr Atah also highlighted the project’s strong integration of technology into learning delivery, adding that investments in virtual classrooms, Learning Management Systems, live-streaming platforms, and High-Performance Computing infrastructure have expanded access to training while improving the quality and efficiency of instruction.
He added that private sector organisations are increasingly sponsoring internships, field visits, and staff training under the project, helping to bridge the gap between academic training and industry needs.
He said dedicated resources have also been committed to promoting female participation and supporting vulnerable groups across the programme.
Under the Additional Financing phase, Dr Atah explained that attention will increasingly focus on scaling up training across all programme tracks, strengthening professional certification systems, and deepening institutional sustainability.
A new performance-based condition on digital procurement reform through the Electronic Government Procurement (E-GP) system has also been introduced.
Performance under the new phase, he explained, will increasingly target high-spending Ministries, Departments, and Agencies at both federal and state levels, while disbursements will continue to depend on independently verified performance benchmarks under the project’s results-based financing model, with oversight provided by the Independent Third-Party Verifiers.
