End-user stakeholders’ management framework for public private partnership road project in Nigeria

Many developing nations such as Nigeria have embraced PPP approach in order to bridge their significant infrastructural gaps such as prisons, roads, schools, rail tracks and train systems, among others, through Public Private Partnership (PPP) schemes which have gained international recognition in the last two decades. One of the major factors militating against PPP projects successful growth and development in Nigeria and some part of the world is poor end-user stakeholder management. There is a paucity of research on end-user stakeholder management in PPP projects within Nigerian context despite significant efforts on researchwhich informs this study aim to develop a framework that will encapsulate the strategic approach for successful management of the diverse interests of end user stakeholders of the PPP road projects in Nigeria. The pragmatism philosophical paradigms with the mixed method approach were adopted. The case study and survey strategies were used with end-users and professionals that have worked on the PPP projects as target respondents. The two cases used are Lekki-Epe PPP toll road and Apakun Muritala Muhammed PPP toll road. Eighteen interviews were carried out and analysed using thematic analysis (qualitative). A total number of 282 completed questionnaires were retrieved and analysed using reliability and factor analysis (quantitative). The thematic analysis resulted in 29 themes which were used to create the 33 variables used in questionnaire. Reliability analysis of questionnaire data revealed five variables as unreliable. Factor analysis of the remaining 28 variables revealed seven valid underlying factors which affects end-users stakeholders’ management framework in PPP road project in Lagos Nigeria. These factors are: safety efforts by the contractor; socio-economic impact; benefit realisation and community participation; environmental impact; public utilities compensation; integration with the host community; and integration with political groups. Considering all these factors, it can be concluded that the end-users stakeholders believed that their active involvement in decision-making on PPP projects from inception to conclusion is a major solution to the problem of end-user stakeholder’s agitation in Nigeria