Authors : Adedokun Adebowale

Volume/Issue : Volume 11 - 2026, Issue 1 - January

Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/ycd9xm8u

Scribd : https://tinyurl.com/3w29k8bd

DOI : https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/26jan058

Note : A published paper may take 4-5 working days from the publication date to appear in PlumX Metrics, Semantic Scholar, and ResearchGate.

Abstract : Although 15–20% of Nigeria's GDP comes from public procurement (World Bank, 2022; OECD, 2021), systemic leakages, elite capture, and gender exclusion still exist 17 years after the Public Procurement Act of 2007 (The A & E Law Partnership, 2024; Oyewobi et al., 2017). Using a sequential-explanatory mixed-methods design, this study evaluates the causal effects of BPP's digital reforms (2012–2023) on procurement efficiency (Creswell, 2014; Tashakkori & Teddlie, 2010). Additionally, it suggests a Policy-Driven Digital Governance Framework (PDGF) that incorporates AI-enabled anomaly detection, a sovereign Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) cloud hosted by the National Data Exchange (NDX), and gender-responsive green procurement (GRGP) regulations (Lawal Rasheed Ajibola et al., 2025; OBAZELE & OSUJI, 2025). Only after the 2021 Executive Order on OCDS required granular transparency did e-bidding implementation reduce average cycle time by 22% (p<0.01) and bid-rigging red flags by 18% (p<0.05), according to difference-in-differences estimates on 4,000 federal contracts (OBAZELE & OSUJI, 2025; Krasnolutska, 2020). Qualitative elite interviews (n=37) show that sustainability clauses are still optional rather than required because the PPA 2007 does not include provisions for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) indicators (The A & E Law Partnership, 2024; Federal Ministry of Environment, 2023) (Onyango, 2019; Feiock, 2013). In order to close this gap, the paper drafts a Procurement Sustainability Bill 2025 that modifies Sections 16, 30, and 58 of the PPA to include requirements for the circular economy, a 30% set-aside for women-owned SMEs, mandatory life-cycle costing, and a Sovereign Green Procurement Index (SGPI) (Bolton, 2021; UN Women, 2023). According to simulation modeling, SGPI could save NGN 1.8 trillion (€USD 2.4 billion) a year by 2030 and create 330,000 green jobs (Oyewobi et al., 2017; Geels, 2020). According to the report (Lawal Rasheed Ajibola et al., 2025; The A & E Law Partnership, 2024), BPP has the potential to lead the continent in inclusive, sustainable, and sovereign procurement governance.

Keywords : Public Procurement, Sustainability, Digital Governance, Open Contracting, Nigeria, Policy, Gender-Responsive Procurement, AI-Enabled Anomaly Detection.

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