An exploration of public procurement as an instrument for sustainable development: the case of local government areas in Nigeria.

Sustainable public procurement is an integral part of sustainable development that seeks to harmonise and evaluate public expenditures of goods and services through different contracting authorities to fulfil public procurement objectives. While the contribution of the sustainable public procurement sector is receiving increasing attention in developed societies, the role of sustainable public procurement is muted in developing communities. There have been many studies exploring the role of public procurement for sustainable development in the local government areas in the western context. However, there is no empirical study of this nature in developing countries such as Nigeria. Hence, this study aims to explore the various mechanisms through which local government authorities in Nigeria utilise their public procurement functions to foster sustainable development regarding the economic, social, and environmental benefits The study reviewed policy documents and practitioner documents on public procurement and sustainability available through the bureau of public procurement, which is the designated commission for public procurement in Nigeria. Adopting a qualitative approach, thirteen local government areas were utilised to explore the challenges and opportunities for addressing sustainability imperatives through public procurement. Using semi-structured interviews, this study conducted twenty-four interviews of public procurement professionals to gain in-depth knowledge of the extent to which sustainability is incorporated into current public procurement practices and how sustainable public procurement can be used as an instrument for sustainable development. This study confirmed some of the challenges that have been reported in the literature. In addition, the study found contextual factors such as lack of autonomy, nepotism, absence of e-procurement, reluctance to change, and absence of the rule of law that add to the challenges of achieving sustainable public procurement in Nigeria. This study also has practical implications for practitioners through the application of the proposed theoretical framework to achieve sustainability in public procurement. This will also help the local government meets the sustainable development goal 12 (responsible consumption and production) target 7 (which is sustainable public procurement