The National Universities Commission has signed additional performance contracts worth $65 million with vice-chancellors of participating universities under the World Bank-backed Sustainable Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards Enhancement project aimed at improving governance standards across Nigerian tertiary institutions.
The agreement was signed on Wednesday in Abuja during a ceremony attended by officials of the NUC, the World Bank, the Bureau of Public Procurement, participating universities, and other stakeholders.
Speaking at the event, Executive Secretary of the NUC, Abdullahi Ribadu, described the additional financing phase as a major step toward deepening sustainability, procurement, and governance reforms in Nigeria’s university system.
According to Ribadu, the SPESSE initiative was designed to tackle the shortage of skilled professionals in procurement, environmental safeguards, and social standards, as well as the limited number of specialised academic programmes in those fields.
He noted that six centres of excellence were established across Nigeria’s geopolitical zones under the programme, including centres at Ahmadu Bello University and Lagos State University.
“Today, these institutions are playing a strategic role in producing the skilled manpower required to support transparency, environmental responsibility, and socially inclusive development in Nigeria and beyond,” Ribadu said.
The NUC boss stated that the project, which became operational in 2021, has already achieved significant milestones, including the development of postgraduate diplomas, master’s degrees, undergraduate programmes, and digital learning infrastructure.
He added that over 68 international partnerships had been established, while some centres had started enrolling foreign students.
Ribadu disclosed that three of the six centres had already commenced PhD programmes, with the remaining centres expected to begin by July 2026.
Financing Details
Under the new financing arrangement, the commission targets the production of at least 60 PhD graduates, the enrolment of 60 foreign students, and the facilitation of student exchange programmes and staff internships with international institutions.
The World Bank’s Task Team Leader for the SPESSE project, Ishtiak Siddique, said the initiative remained one of the institution’s most strategic partnerships in Nigeria despite the bank’s broader $17 billion portfolio in the country.
According to Siddique, more than 40,000 people have already been trained under the programme, while an additional 24,000 participants are expected to benefit during the new financing phase.
He also announced plans to deploy a fully electronic procurement system at the federal level before expanding it to state governments.
“The way it is being designed, it takes advantage of all the new technologies like machine learning and artificial intelligence to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of public procurement,” Siddique said.
Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement, Adebowale Adedokun, said the additional financing would support the development of professionally certified procurement officers and improve transparency in public spending.
Vice Chancellor of Lagos State University, Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, said the programme had strengthened institutional systems and learning infrastructure within universities.
Similarly, Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Adamu Ahmed, noted that the initiative had improved student enrolment and virtual programme delivery, while also attracting international students.
The SPESSE project was launched in 2021 with an initial $80 million World Bank facility aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s capacity in procurement, environmental management, and social governance through specialised university training programmes.
