Public Procurement Act and Project Time Outcomes in Nigeria

The Public Procurement Act (PPA) 2007 established the Bureau of Public Procurement to regulate and monitor the public procurement process to successfully deliver projects in Nigeria. The enactment of the Act has not produced the desired intentions due to a number of factors. The aim of this study was to investigate the operation of the PPA with a view to enhance project outcomes in the Nigerian construction sector. The specific objectives were to find out the level of awareness and compliance with the Act in Nigeria; and to establish the relationship between PPA and the time outcome of construction projects. Descriptive survey research was adopted to carry out this study. The population of the study comprised construction professionals in Lagos, Nigeria. Questionnaires were administered to 150 construction professionals selected by purposive sampling technique in the study area. Frequency, percentage, mean score (MS) and standard deviation (STD) were used to analyze the data. The findings revealed moderate awareness and compliance with the Act in Lagos State. The study concludes that although there is moderate awareness and compliance with the PPA, the goals of enactment of the PPA have not been fully realized due to poor project outcomes in terms of time. The implication is that the Act should be revisited to ensure that the provisions and means of enforcement are adequate to realize the goals. It is recommended that continuous awareness of the PPA should still be encouraged to enhance project outcomes. This can be done by adequate publicity of the Act among professionals. Additionally, the government should enforce compliance of the Act in organizations that do not comply. This can be done by scrutinizing contractors’ tender documents to ensure the inclusion of the provisions of the PPA.