By Chioma Sunny-Adikwu
The Federal University of Technology, Owerri’s Centre of Excellence in Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards (FUTO CE-sPESS) received high commendation for its performance in implementing the World Bank-supported Sustainable Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards Enhancement (SPESSE) Project in Nigeria.
Speaking at the recently concluded World Bank Technical Support Mission on the SPESSE Project, the National Coordinator of SPESSE and Director, Special Projects, at the National Universities Commission (NUC), Dr Joshua Atah, disclosed that FUTO CE-sPESS would be the first of the six Centres to graduate students from its undergraduate programme. He assured participants that the NUC would be represented at the Centre’s convocation ceremony in recognition of its outstanding record, adding that the graduates would be mobilised for national assignments within partnering agencies — further strengthening institutional efficiency and stability, and reinforcing strategies to position Nigerian institutions for excellence.
Atah noted that the project had reached the end of its initial financing phase and commended the SPESSE Team and the six Centres of Excellence for their unwavering commitment to the programme’s success. He said all the Centres had satisfactorily met the Performance-Based Conditions (PBCs), qualifying them for the Project’s additional financing phase. He urged participants to sustain collaboration throughout the mission to achieve its objectives while deepening its impact across their respective institutions.
The Lead Procurement Specialist and Task Team Lead (TTL) for SPESSE, Ishtiak Siddique, reminded the Centres of the need to conclude all activities under the original financing to allow a smooth transition into the Project’s next phase. Reviewing the activities and reports submitted by the various Centres, he stressed the importance of maintaining accurate databases to support comprehensive monitoring and evaluation.
Siddique disclosed that the project has been ranked among the best-performing World Bank-assisted projects in the country, an achievement he attributed largely to rigorous quality assurance checks, systematic verification, and consistent monitoring and evaluation across the six Centres of Excellence established in 2019 under the project.
He commended FUTO CE-sPESS for meeting its targets, particularly in the Master’s Programme, and encouraged the Centre to intensify efforts on its Tracks A and B short courses to earn additional Disbursement-Linked Indicators (DLIs). He clarified that additional financing would not be shared equally among the Centres, noting that any Centre able to accelerate its activities and deliver more targets stood to earn more. He urged all Centres to conclude their original project activities by the end of October.
FUTO CE-sPESS was represented at the mission by the Centre Leader, Prof. G.A. Chukwudebe (who joined virtually); the three Deputy Directors, Prof. B.U. Dike (PRM), Prof. C.O. Nwoko (SES) and Prof. J.N. Ogbulie (SSD); the Account Officer, Mrs Charity Ezike; the Health and Safety Environmental Officer, Dr J.E. Umunnakwe; the Project Management Officer/Logistics and Transport, Engr. Dr M.I. Nmecha; the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Dr H.C. Iwu; and the Communication Officer, Dr C.D. Sunny-Adikwu.
FUTO CE-sPESS said it remains committed to prioritising quality content delivery that produces competent and efficient professionals equipped to address the nation’s development challenges.
Over 85,000 participants have so far been trained across the project’s five tracks — Tracks A and B (short courses) and Tracks C to E (postgraduate and undergraduate programmes) — with more than 6,000 professionals certified in Procurement and Environmental and Social Safeguards.
The mission’s objective was to review progress under the original financing, assess project-closing activities across the six Centres, and determine the level of compliance with the agreed actions and achievements of the previous mission, ahead of the closure of activities under the original financing.
