Nigeria, Feb. 25 -- In order to address regional development challenges, the World Bank said it spent $580 million in the three phases of its Africa Centre of Excellence (ACE) projects.

The projects cuts across 22 centres in West and Central Africa countries.

The Education and Capacity Specialist of the World Bank, Ekua Benti, said this at the 16th African Higher Education Centre of Excellence workshop in Abuja on Tuesday.

The ACE Project was instituted in 2013 by the governments of Burkina Faso, Republic of Benin, Ghana, Cameroun, Nigeria, Togo and Senegal, with support from the World Bank.

However, the scope has been widened to accommodate 54 ACE spots hosted in 22 centres across 12 countries. They include Benin, Burkina Faso, Camer...