The Sustainable Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards (SPESSE), a World Bank-funded project, has strengthened Nigeria’s procurement reforms through a novel certification programme introduced by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).

In a statement on Monday, Zira Nagga, BPP’s spokesperson, said the Nigeria Procurement Certification Programme (NPCP), introduced by the BPP, was designed as a professional procurement registry open to all citizens practising procurement across the public and private sectors.

He said that SPESSE, through the certification programme, had made significant contributions to procurement reforms by producing a new crop of skilled procurement professionals.

According to him, the programme, implemented in partnership with the BPP, establishes a nexus between the certification programme and key components of the Public Procurement Act 2007.

“It also establishes a nexus between the ‘Nigeria First Policy’, debarment policy, affirmative procurement, community procurement, sector-based procurement and the use of standard bidding documents, among others,” he said.

Mr Nagga said that, ahead of the convocation ceremony for the first cohort of graduates scheduled for January 29, no fewer than 2,100 graduates, including participants from abroad, would be awarded certificates.

“The SPESSE certification programme has equipped procurement professionals with the knowledge and skills to manage public procurement processes effectively, promoting transparency and accountability,” he said.

Mr Nagga said the certification programme had improved participants’ understanding of streamlined procurement processes, leading to reduced procurement timelines and costs, as well as improved overall efficiency in public procurement.

“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,” he said.

Meanwhile, the director-general of BPP, Adebowale Adedokun, described the SPESSE certification programme as a game-changer for Nigeria’s procurement reform.

“We look forward to continuing our partnership with the World Bank on the SPESSE project to further strengthen our procurement systems,” Mr Adedokun said.

He said the SPESSE was more than a training programme; it was also a deliberately engineered architecture for human capital transformation.

“At the heart of this architecture are our six SPESSE Centres of Excellence at the University of Lagos, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and Federal University of Technology, Owerri.

“The others are the University of Benin, Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, and Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi,” Mr Adedokun said.

The DG said the SPESSE project had made significant contributions to the environmental and social standards components.

He also commended the World Bank for its commitment, as demonstrated through its funding support.

(NAN)