By Emmanuel Daudu
he World Bank has urged the Leaders of the Sustainable Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards Enhancement (SPESSE) project to view their alumni as their greatest resource for sharing their success stories and sustainability efforts.
Speaking on Tuesday in Abuja during the project pre-Mission meeting for 2026, which held at the National Universities Commission (NUC), the World Bank SPESSE Task Team Lead (TTL), Ishtiak Siddique, emphasised the importance of the alumni community in advertising the activities of the centres while urging them to take positive advantage of them.
“If they are well served, they are your best resources”, the TTL said while urging proper and consistent communication with their former students.
Ishtiak informed the forum that the World Bank has approved an Additional Financing of $65 million, signalling the onset of a new phase of the project. He disclosed that the pre-Mission meeting is part of the activities to close the Original Funding (first phase) of the SPESSE project well.
Other objectives of the meeting are to review the progress made so far and the state of the project, and to properly prepare for the main mission, which will take place in June 2026, and to determine how funds will be utilised during the Additional Finance phase.
He said: “This gives us time to fix every issue affecting our performance and to help us look good during the mission.”
In his welcome remarks, the National Coordinator of the SPESSE project and Director, Special Projects of the NUC, Dr Joshua Atah, also emphasised the need for regular engagement with their students and for giving them opportunities to ask questions and receive appropriate explanations.
While urging the centres to seek innovative ways to publicise their success stories, Atah, who expressed his excitement, said the success of the project is the success of the NUC.
“This project has been rated by the World Bank as their best project. We therefore urge everyone to do their best to maintain the tempo.
“As we inch closer to the end of the Original Financing, we are happy that the Additional Financing has been approved, so it is going to be a smooth transition,” he emphasised.
The pre-Mission was attended by University Vice-Chancellors, Centre Leaders, their deputies, and project accountants. Also present are teams from the World Bank, NUC, Environmental Standard node, Social Standards node, and the Bureau of Public Procurement.
Recall that the World Bank originally financed Nigeria’s SPESSE project with an $80 million loan in February 2020, and in June 2025, it approved an additional $65 million, bringing total funding to $145 million. The new financing extends the project’s timeline to June 2029 and supports expanded reforms in procurement, environmental, and social standards.
