Due Process and Efficiency in Public Procurement: An Evaluation of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) In Abuja Nigeria (Published)
This study examines the impact of the Due Process mechanism on procurement efficiency within the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Abuja, the apex regulatory body for federal procurement in Nigeria. Public procurement accounts for nearly 70% of public expenditure in African nations, making its efficient and transparent management critical to national development, yet it remains highly vulnerable to corruption and inefficiency. The Due Process mechanism, central to Nigeria’s 2007 Public Procurement Act (PPA), aims to curb these risks through strict adherence to principles of transparency, competition, and accountability. A descriptive survey design was employed, utilizing a structured questionnaire administered to a stratified sample of 167 procurement professionals at the BPP. The independent variable, Due Process, was operationalized by Compliance, Transparency, and Competition, while the dependent variable, Procurement Efficiency, was measured by Timeliness, Cost-Effectiveness (Value for Money, VFM), and Quality of Output. Data were analyzed using Multiple Regression, Simple Regression, and Pearson Correlation.The findings reveal a crucial duality in the impact of Due Process: Overall Positive Impact (H01 Rejected): Compliance with Due Process procedures has a significant positive impact on overall Procurement Efficiency (R2 = 0.612, p=0.000). Competition (β=0.401) and Compliance (β=0.354) were identified as the strongest drivers. Trade-Off with Speed (H02 Rejected): There is a significant but negative influence of Due Process compliance on the Timely Completion of Public Projects (β=-0.198, p=0.015). Descriptive statistics confirm this tension, showing a high score for VFM (̄x̄=4.35$) and Quality (x̄=4.09$), but a low score for Timeliness (x̄=2.88$).Strong VFM Achievement (H03 Rejected): Both Transparency (r=0.685) and Competition (r=0.781) exhibit a very strong positive relationship with the achievement of Value for Money (p=0.000$).The study concludes that the Due Process mechanism is highly effective as an anti-corruption and probity tool, successfully enforcing competition and transparency to achieve cost-effectiveness and high-quality outputs. However, its bureaucratic layers, exacerbated by implementation challenges such as slow e-procurement adoption and political interference, introduce significant bureaucratic latency that compromises project timeliness. Recommendations include streamlining the Certificate of No Objection process through digitalization and investing heavily in robust e-procurement infrastructure to resolve the critical trade-off between probity and speed.
Keywords: bureau of public procurement (bpp), due process, procurement efficiency, timeliness, transparency, value for money