The World Bank has commended the Sustainable Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards Enhancement, SPESSE, Environmental Node for commencing professional certification examinations, describing the step as a major milestone for the project.
The bank said the development marks the transition of the SPESSE Project from mainly theoretical capacity building to practical, standards based certification. It noted that the certification exercise was a key outcome of the recently concluded Implementation Support Mission on the SPESSE Project, held between November and December 2025.
As part of the Mission, a World Bank delegation carried out a focused visit to the SPESSE Environmental Node, which is hosted by the Environmental Assessment Department of the Federal Ministry of Environment. The visit formed part of broader engagements aimed at assessing progress and strengthening institutional systems under the project.
The Director of the Environmental Assessment Department at the Federal Ministry of Environment, Mrs Rofikat Adebunkola Odetoro, who received the Task Team on behalf of the Environmental Node, reaffirmed the Department’s commitment to building certification systems under SPESSE that are credible, transparent, and institutionally sustainable. She said the Department remains focused on ensuring that certification frameworks developed under the project meet national and international expectations.
Speaking during the visit, the World Bank Task Team Leader, Mr Ishtiak Siddiqe, praised the Environmental Node for initiating certification activities but cautioned against measuring success only by the number of certificates issued. He stressed that the long term value of the programme would depend on the credibility, governance, and verifiability of the systems supporting the certification process, especially the National Environmental Standards Certification Programme, NESCP.
According to Siddiqe, verification should not be treated as an administrative requirement but as the foundation for trust in SPESSE certifications among development partners, government institutions, and the wider professional community. “For the Environmental Node, this reinforces the need to align operational practices with the verification standards that underpin the credibility of the certification system,” he said.
The engagement went beyond a routine progress review, reflecting the World Bank’s deliberate focus on strengthening institutions that can sustain SPESSE outcomes beyond the life of the Project, rather than concentrating only on completed activities and short term outputs.
A major area of discussion was the independent verification framework embedded in SPESSE’s results based financing structure. The World Bank Task Team outlined expectations, indicators, and assessment approaches that will guide future verification exercises under the project.
Responding to these issues, the SPESSE Environmental Node Project Coordinator, Mr Hussain Shittu, explained that operational practices are being aligned with the required standards. He said systems are already in place to ensure comprehensive digital records, clear audit trails, and accessible participant data through the certification portal.
Shittu added that the entire certification process, from application and screening to examinations and issuance of certificates, is managed through a digital platform designed to promote consistency, transparency, and traceability across all stages.
Governance arrangements also featured prominently during the discussions, as the Task Team underscored the importance of formal certification approval structures, including certification boards and secretariats, to guarantee institutional legitimacy. The team acknowledged this requirement and disclosed that steps are being taken to align the Environmental Node’s certification governance with established practices across other SPESSE Nodes and relevant national institutions, to strengthen institutional ownership and public confidence.
Beyond certification processes, discussions also linked SPESSE outcomes to wider development impact. On Additional Financing, the World Bank highlighted a strategic focus on Ministries, Departments, and Agencies with high concentrations of World Bank funded projects, to ensure that SPESSE certified professionals are deployed where development investments are most active.
The bank said this approach is expected to improve project delivery, safeguards compliance, and overall institutional performance. As SPESSE approaches project closure and potential additional financing, the experience of the Environmental Node highlights the importance of combining training with strong governance, rigorous verification, and disciplined institutional systems.
