For its importance to vulnerable groups, we’ll allocate office accommodation for take-off of World Bank’s SPESSE Project – Dame Tallen.
Oru Leonard
The Honourable Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen, OFR, KSG has disclosed that her Ministry is making frantic efforts to allocate office accommodation for the take-off of the Sustainable Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards Enhancement (SPESSE) Project in spite of the limited spaces at the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs’ Headquarters.
Dame Pauline Tallen, stated this while giving her remark at the launch of the SPESSE project at the National Universities Commission Auditorium at Maitama, Abuja, on Thursday, 28th October, 2021. The launch event of SPESSE was done by the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo who was represented by the Honourable Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajuiba and was attended by many dignitaries including Vice-Chancellors of the implementing Universities.
The SPESSE Project which is being coordinated by the National Universities Commission (NUC) and implemented together with the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Federal Ministry of Women Affairs (FMWA) and Federal Ministry of Environment will build capacity of officers through certification with online tools in the areas of procurement process, environmental and social standards at the already established six (6) Federal Universities, prominent among which is the University of Lagos. Others are the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi (FUAM), the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO) and the University of Benin (UNIBEN).
The Honourable Minister of Women Affairs who was ably represented at the launch occasion by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Engr. Funso Adebiyi further assured the audience that along with the other implementing agencies, the partners are very much ready to comply with all project’s requirements on the Environmental and Social Commitment Plan (ESCP).
Dame Pauline Tallen assured that her Ministry (FMWA) as an implementing Ministry for the Social Standards node of the project along with the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment and the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing (Land Department) as implementing partners will ensure that the project contributes to increasing supply of skilled workers which is critical for the achievement of high rate of economic growth.
The Honourable Minister further seized the occasion to implore Nigerians and the entire Social Standard certificated professionals to utilize the golden opportunity offered by the SPESSE Project and of the Federal Government to perfect their procurement practices through acquiring the globally tested and accepted online courses on Social Standard.
Dame Pauline Tallen concluded her remarks by recognizing the important role and the consistent support of the World Bank towards the enhancement of her Ministry’s programmes for women, children and other vulnerable groups in Nigeria as well as the overall development of the country’s economy.
