World Bank rates Nigeria’s education skills satisfactory, approves more funding
By Uji A Iliyasu, Abuja
Nigeria’s efforts to address critical manpower shortages in procurement, environmental and social standards have received a major boost as the World Bank has rated the Sustainable Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards Enhancement (SPESSE) project satisfactory and approved additional financing to sustain its gains.
Implemented by the National Universities Commission (NUC) with support from the Federal Government of Nigeria and the World Bank, SPESSE was designed to tackle long-standing skill gaps in both the public and private sectors, particularly the absence of structured academic and professional pathways in procurement and safeguards standards.
The World Bank reaffirmed its confidence in the project during a recent Implementation Support Mission (ISM) led by Task Team Leader, Ishtiak Siddique, alongside the National Project Coordinator, Dr Joshua Atah of the NUC. The mission assessed progress under the original financing and agreed on next steps under the Additional Financing.
According to the mission’s Aide Memoire, SPESSE has made “significant progress,” achieving all four Project Development Objective (PDO) indicators. Overall implementation progress was rated satisfactory following independent verification for the January 1 to June 30, 2025 period. Twelve out of 18 Performance-Based Conditions (PBCs) have already been met, with five more expected by June 2026.
The World Bank team engaged with key stakeholders, including the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), the Federal Ministries of Finance, Environment and Women Affairs, as well as the SPESSE National Facilitation Implementation Unit at the NUC. Activities at the project’s six Centres of Excellence — hosted by 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 — were also reviewed.
One of SPESSE’s landmark achievements is the introduction of professional certification examinations in procurement, environmental safeguards and social safeguards. Conducted online between April and June 2025, the exams produced 3,429 successful candidates, including 2,121 in procurement, 855 in social safeguards and 453 in environmental safeguards.
Beyond certification, over 85,000 participants have benefited from SPESSE training programmes nationwide, spanning multiple learning tracks. Stakeholders note that the project maintained steady progress despite early disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The project’s strong performance earned commendation from the Federal Ministry of Finance, which described SPESSE as one of Nigeria’s most successful donor-funded initiatives. In recognition of its impact, the World Bank approved additional financing, extending the project to June 2026.
With renewed funding, SPESSE is expected to deepen procurement reforms, expand online training and strengthen institutional capacity, reinforcing Nigeria’s drive toward sustainable procurement and responsible governance.