By Kelechi Onwujuba 

The National Universities Commission (NUC) on Wednesday signed additional $65 million performance contracts with Vice-Chancellors of six participating universities under the World Bank-supported Sustainable Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards Enhancement Project (SPESSE).


The signing ceremony, held in Abuja, brought together key stakeholders including officials of the NUC, the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), the World Bank, representatives of participating universities and other relevant agencies.


SPESSE was originally launched in 2021 with an initial $80 million World Bank facility aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s capacity in procurement, environmental and social governance through specialised training programmes within universities.


The Executive Secretary of the NUC, Prof. Abdullahi Ribadu, described the additional financing phase as a “new chapter” that would deepen the achievements already recorded under the first phase of the initiative.

According to Ribadu, the project was designed to address the shortage of skilled professionals in procurement, environmental and social safeguards, as well as the limited availability of academic programmes in those areas within Nigerian universities.


He explained that six centres of excellence were established across Nigeria’s geopolitical zones under the coordination of the NUC, with support from the World Bank, to provide specialised training and professional development.


Ribadu noted that institutions such as Ahmadu Bello University and Lagos State University were already playing a strategic role in producing manpower needed to strengthen transparency, environmental responsibility and socially inclusive development in Nigeria.


He added that major achievements of the programme include the development of curricula for short courses, postgraduate diplomas, master’s degrees and undergraduate programmes, alongside investments in digital learning platforms and high-performance computing infrastructure.


The NUC boss disclosed that some centres had begun enrolling foreign students, while over 68 international partnerships had been established, with The Gambia already expressing interest in sending its citizens to the centres.


Ribadu further revealed that three of the six centres had commenced PhD programmes, while the remaining three are expected to begin in the next academic session starting in July 2026, with a target of producing at least 60 PhD graduates under the new phase.


Speaking on behalf of the World Bank, SPESSE Task Team Leader Ishtiak Siddique described the project as one of the bank’s most significant partnerships with Nigeria, noting that over 40,000 people have already been trained and an additional 24,000 are expected to benefit under the new financing package.


The Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement, Adebowale Adedokun, said the bureau remained committed to ensuring procurement officers become academically and professionally competent, adding that the additional financing phase would also support the deployment of an end-to-end electronic procurement system at the federal level.