The National Universities Commission (NUC) has signed additional $65 million performance contracts with six Nigerian universities under a World Bank-backed initiative aimed at improving procurement systems and environmental standards in the country’s higher education sector.
The agreement was reached during a signing ceremony held in Abuja, which brought together officials of the NUC, the Bureau of Public Procurement, the World Bank, and representatives of participating universities under the Sustainable Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards Enhancement (SPESSE) Project.
Officials explained that the new funding built on an initial $80 million World Bank facility launched in 2021 to strengthen Nigeria’s capacity in procurement processes, environmental management, and social governance through specialised academic programmes.
Speaking at the event, the Executive Secretary of the NUC, Professor Abdullahi Ribadu, described the additional financing as a renewed push to deepen reforms across the participating institutions.
“This phase marks not only a continuation of the initiative, but also a renewed opportunity to consolidate achievements, scale impacts, and deepen sustainability measures across the participating institutions,” Ribadu said.
He noted that the project was designed to close critical skill gaps in procurement, environmental safeguards, and social governance, adding that Nigerian universities had long suffered limited academic offerings in these areas.
“The project was conceived to address a critical gap in the Nigerian university system,” he said, stressing that there was “insufficient supply of skilled professionals in procurement, environmental and social safeguards, as well as the limited availability of specialised academic programs in these fields.”
According to him, six centres of excellence have been established across Nigeria’s geopolitical zones, with support from the World Bank, to train professionals and strengthen governance capacity.
Ribadu said the centres, including those at Ahmadu Bello University and Lagos State University, are already contributing to improved transparency and development outcomes.
“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,” he stated.
He disclosed that the project had already recorded notable progress since 2021, including curriculum development for diploma, undergraduate, and postgraduate programmes, as well as investments in digital learning infrastructure.
“Resource verification exercises have enabled the centres to mount postgraduate diplomas, master’s, and bachelor’s programmes, while investments in high-performance computing infrastructure, learning management systems, live streaming facilities, and digital learning platforms have strengthened teaching, learning, and research across the centres,” he said.
Ribadu added that three of the centres had already commenced PhD programmes, while others were expected to begin in the next academic session.
“In 2025, certification protocols for all three thematic areas were developed and activated,” he noted.
He further revealed that the programme targets at least 60 PhD graduates, 60 foreign students, 18 staff internships, and 60 student exchange opportunities under the new phase.
He also said The Gambia had expressed interest in sending students to the centres.
“We already have an expression of interest from the Gambia to send some of their citizens to the centres,” he said.
Task Team Leader of the SPESSE project, Ishtiak Siddique, described the initiative as one of the World Bank’s most important partnerships with Nigeria, noting its wide impact across governance sectors.
“This particular project is very close to our heart because it actually cuts across all the sectors,” he said.
He explained that more than 40,000 people had already been trained under the programme, while an additional 24,000 are expected to benefit under the new funding phase.
“We are aiming even higher, an additional 24,000 people at least will be trained under the additional financing,” he stated.
Siddique also announced plans for a nationwide electronic procurement system powered by modern technologies.
“The government intends to have all procurements in the future to be done electronically,” he said, adding that artificial intelligence and machine learning would be integrated to improve efficiency.
Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement, Adebowale Adedokun, said the initiative would strengthen professional capacity and support national development goals.
“This project has so far trained and certified over 2,700 officers drawn from their MDAs at the federal, state, and local governments,” he said.
He added that the new phase would expand digital procurement systems and capacity building for public institutions and small businesses.
The Vice Chancellor of Lagos State University, Professor Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, also praised the project for strengthening institutional capacity and academic infrastructure across participating universities.
