SPESSE: Grooming New Generation of Procurement Experts

Uchechukwu Nnaike reports that the recently launched World Bank-sponsored Sustainable Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards Enhancement Project, will among others, give a more professional and academic outlook to the procurement, environmental and social sectors

Before now, procurement professionals came from related backgrounds like business or economics, logistics, supply chain management or purchasing. But the narrative is about to change with the recent launch of the Sustainable Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards Enhancement (SPESSE) Project by the Federal Government of Nigeria, with support from the World Bank.

The SPESSE Project was conceived based on the need to bridge the gap between the insufficient supply of qualified professionals in the procurement, environmental and social sectors and the lack of academic programmes and curricula in the Nigerian education system. It, therefore, seeks to develop sustainable capacity in managing procurement, environmental and social standards in the public and private sectors.

Six federal universities (Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi; Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi; Federal University of Technology, Owerri; the University of Benin and the University of Lagos) were selected to host the Sustainable Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards Centres of Excellence (SPESSCEs) to implement the project.

SPESSE is a multi-sectoral project, with support from the World Bank, which seeks to address training, professionalisation and research in procurement, environmental and social standards through certification, undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate studies; to support governance, increase transparency, competition, equal opportunity, sustainability, as well as environmental and social standard management in the public and private sectors.

It will be implemented by the National Universities Commission (NUC), Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Federal Ministry of Environment and Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development.

Speaking at the launch of the project in Abuja, the Coordinator, SPESSE Project Implementation Unit, NUC, Abuja, Dr. Joshua Atah, said in recognition of the dearth of critical skills and identified gaps preventing reform and modernisation, Nigeria made a bold decision to be the first country to take credit from the World Bank to build capacity in procurement, environmental and social standards.

He said SPESSE is designed to integrate PES professionalisation within the Nigerian public and private sectors, which will enhance sustainable development and value for money in public expenditure.

According to him, the project is aligned with several government policies such as the National Infrastructure Integrated Master Plan, the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan and the National Anti-corruption Strategy.

Atah said the five-year project has a total budget of $80 million. He said 37.5 per cent of the amount is for technical assistance, while the remaining 62.5 per cent would be performance-based payments using Disbursement Link Indicators (DLI).

He said the target is to train about 25,240 candidates within the project’s lifespan in the six universities, where about 30 short courses will be offered. He added that 3,000 female students would benefit from short courses, while 30 per cent of the entire learning process would be online.

According to him, performance by implementing agencies and partners will be evaluated by a dedicated independent verifier that will also draw lessons and support adaptation. He said previous experiences from the African Centres of Excellence (ACE) project had highlighted the importance of having independently-managed centres of excellence.

Atah said the short courses are ready for enrollment, while other programmes will commence from January 2022.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who launched the project, stressed the need for transparency and accountability in procurement processes at all government levels for the nation’s overall growth. Osinbajo, represented by the Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, noted that a huge amount of money is often earmarked for procurement, thereby encouraging some form of financial waste.

“Issues relating to construction, rehabilitation and extension of existing buildings, acquisition and development of lands, purchase of laboratory equipment, disposal of reagents and samples from sick people and animals, amongst others must conform with world standards. To achieve this, there is an absolute need to build the adequate technical capacity required for efficient and effective procurement, environmental and social safeguard systems,” he said. He expressed hope that investment in the SPESSE project would institutionalise the practice of procurement, environmental and social standards in Nigeria.

While commending the NUC for its role in institutionalising the study of procurement, environmental and social standards in the Nigerian University System, the vice-president thanked other stakeholders for working towards the success of the SPESSE project. He said the choice of six centres, one in each of the six geopolitical zones, would ensure inclusiveness and guarantee maximum benefits.

In his remarks, the World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Shubham Chaudhuri, said Apart from investing in infrastructure, the Bank is more focussed on reevaluating the human capital required to deliver on the needs of people. “I am thrilled that this critical need is going to be addressed through SPESSE. We look forward to working with all of you,” he said.

Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of NUC, Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, represented by his deputy, Dr. Chris Mayaki, stated that the journey towards the launch of the project was painstaking. He expressed delight that the journey towards offering professional and academic activities to ensure good governance, effectiveness in service delivery, among other things, had started.

He stated that the project was Nigeria’s first attempt at institutionalising the much needed sustainable and credible qualification framework in the field of procurement, environmental and social standards, that would offer professional and academic programmes in such a sustainable and fit-for-purpose manner

According to him, though the project was originally designed to be a four-year programme (2020-2024), there was however some hitches including the COVID-19 pandemic. He said although the centres might be behind schedule, he was convinced that with their level of commitment and determination, the objectives of the project would be attained.

The task team leader for the project, Chief Bayo Awosemusi, said with SPESSE, Nigeria will be one of the few countries in the world offering such a holistic wide-scale support to professionalisation of procurement, environmental and social standards.

HE said there would be an incentive for centres if at least 30 per cent of the students enrolled for the courses were females, adding that the team is striving for equal participation of both genders.

While calling for the cooperation of all stakeholders to enable the project to attain the potential of positioning Nigeria to be the hub for Africa, the team leader said the SPESSE graduates will not only be abundant in public sectors, but also in industries, private businesses, civil society organisations and the donor community.

He announced that the World Bank in Nigeria has decided to condition PES employment in Bank-funded projects to practitioners who have graduated from SPESSE. “We will have at least 25,000 such professionals by 2024, so we invite MDAs in Nigeria as well as the donor community to proceed along the same lines.”

Awosemusi added that job creation and increasing employability are further supported by the project through a participatory internship programme with partner industries, private and public employers; “at least 2,300 students will benefit from such a programme,” he said.

In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Sonny Echono, who represented the minister, said the project would afford the private sector, government and academia the opportunity to address the skills gap in procurement, environmental and social standards.

He cited a report released 20 years agos, which revealed that out of every naira spent in government business, only 40 kobo services was rendered, and that nearly 70 per cent of activities in Nigeria had to do with procurement.

He therefore urged the country to take advantage of the platform presented by the world Bank to produce the right kind of personnel that would take charge of its procurement.

On his part, the Statistician-General of the Federation, Simon Harry, urged the stakeholders to allow statistics to guide the entire process.
Responding on behalf of the benefitting universities, the Vice-Chancellor of UNILAG, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, promised that the centres would make the country proud and facilitate the spread of the programme to other parts of the world.