Interrogating The Absence of The National Council on Public Procurement: Bidders and Contractors Perspectives

Abstract

Despite the concerted commitment of numerous government entities to a transparent, efficient and cost-effective procurement process since the passage of the PPA in 2007, the National Council on Public Procurement, created by the PPA in 2007, has not yet been constituted. The objective of this study was to examine how the government's failure to establish the National Council on Public Procurement (NCPP) affected the due process mechanism and the public procurement system. This investigation employed a survey methodology. The study was conducted in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria. The population for the study was, 205 contractors engaged in the Federal Government's minor works procurement process within the South East Zone since the enactment of the PPA. A sample of 117 contractors was drawn using both the purposive/judgmental and random sampling methods. Data gathering sources included both primary and secondary sources. The primary data collection instrument was a structured questionnaire with both closed- and open-ended questions, while books, journals, and other papers served as secondary data sources. Data analysis utilized descriptive and inferential statistics in particular. Ironically, the results demonstrated that the government's unwillingness to establish the NCPP in compliance with the articles of the PPA (2007) had no adverse effect on the public procurement system.