The Federal Government has launched a nationwide training programme to improve social safeguards, enhance labour standards, and promote inclusion, especially for vulnerable groups affected by economic instability and conflict.
The training, organised under the World Bank-funded Sustainable Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards Enhancement (SPESSE) Project, focuses on developing a skilled workforce capable of managing social risks in Nigeria. It brings together representatives from various ministries, state governments, academia, and development organisations.
Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, represented by Mr. Benjamin Okwesa, the project coordinator of the National Social Standards Delivery System, said the programme was designed to build institutional capacity and address challenges such as gender-based violence, forced displacement, and hazardous labour practices.
She explained that the training is divided into two tracks: an executive session for top-level decision-makers and a certification programme aligned with the World Bank’s Environmental and Social Framework (ESF). The ESF outlines mandatory procedures for ensuring that development projects are socially responsible and environmentally sound.
Participants in the programme will receive international certifications, making them eligible for roles in donor-funded development projects both in Nigeria and globally. Key partners in the initiative include the Federal Ministries of Labour and Housing and the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi (FUAM), one of the six centres of excellence under SPESSE.
Okwesa added that investing in human capital for social protection and compliance will strengthen Nigeria’s social standards infrastructure and help prevent abuse and marginalisation in both public and private sectors.
