The Sustainable Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards (SPESSE), a World Bank-funded project, has bolstered Nigeria’s procurement reforms through the novel procurement professional certification programme introduced by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).
The BPP’s Nigeria Procurement Certification Programme [NPCP] is designed as the professional procurement registry open to all citizens practising procurement across the public and private sectors.
SPESSE, through the professional Certification programme, has made significant contributions to Nigeria’s procurement reform by producing a new crop of procurement professionals.
The programme, implemented in partnership with the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), establishes a nexus between the certification programme and key components of the Procurement Act 2007, including Nigeria first policy, debarment policy, affirmative Procurement, community procurement, sector-based procurement, and standard bidding documents, among others.
A statement issued by Mr Zira Zakka Nagga, Head of Media Unit at the BPP, ahead of the convocation ceremony of the first cohort of graduates of the programme on January 29, 2026, at which about 2,100 of them, including graduates from foreign nations, will be issued their certificates, said “the SPESSE certification programme has equipped procurement professionals with the knowledge and skills to manage public procurement processes effectively, promoting transparency and accountability.”
The statement said that the knowledge derived from the programme had helped to ensure compliance with the Public Procurement Act 2007 and other regulatory frameworks, reducing the risk of corruption and promoting good governance.
He stated in addition that “the certification programme has given participants greater understanding of the streamlined procurement processes, thus reducing procurement timelines and costs, and improving the overall efficiency of public procurement.”
Mr Nagga adverted attention to the impact of the SPESSE programme on Nigeria’s Procurement Reform.
According to him, ” The SPESSE programme has strengthened the capacity of the BPP to regulate and oversee public procurement, promoting transparency and accountability.
“The programme’s focus on sustainable procurement practices has promoted environmentally and socially responsible procurement, contributing to Nigeria’s sustainable development goals.
“By promoting transparency, accountability, and efficiency in public procurement, the SPESSE programme has contributed to Nigeria’s economic growth and development.”
Zira quoted the Director-General of BPP, Dr Adebowale Adedokun to have said that “the SPESSE certification programme has been a game-changer for Nigeria’s procurement reform as it has equipped our procurement professionals with the knowledge and skills to manage public procurement processes effectively, promoting transparency and accountability.
“We look forward to continuing our partnership with the World Bank on the SPESSE project to further strengthen our procurement systems.”
Adedokun stated that “SPESSE is not just another training programme. It is a deliberately engineered architecture for human capital transformation. It embeds procurement in our academic institutions and in our national psyche as a profession worthy of respect and central to development outcomes.
“At the heart of this architecture are our six SPESSE Centres of Excellence at the Universityof Lagos, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, University of Benin, Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, and Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi with each centre fulfilling a distinct strategic purpose, collectively forming a network of national capability.”
He said that the SPESSE project had also made significant contribution in the environmental and social standards nodes of the project for which he commended the World Bank for its commitment as exemplified by its funding support.
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