Abstract

Author:
Chiedu Okwudili Maduekeh, Ifeoma Nancy Obinwa, Ngozi Christiana Okoye and Adaeze P Okonkwo

Doi: 10.26480/egnes.02.2022.58.63

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

All over the world, there is a general consensus that the construction industry is an important driver of economic growth and prosperity in developing countries such as Nigeria. The nature of activities in the industry is such that human and material resources are mobilized and effectively deployed in both the construction, rehabilitation and maintenance of housing and infrastructure projects for the purpose of reducing unemployment locally and enhancing the general economic wellbeing of a nation through the provision of the requisite infrastructural and commercial structure which are indispensable requirements for the advancement of all other sectors of any economy. However, due to its uniqueness and coupled with the huge financial resources required to actualize a construction product, its procurement has been known to be susceptible to wastage, fraud and other forms of corrupt practices. It was these susceptibilities that led to the introduction of the Nigerian Public Procurement Act in 2007. Consequently, this paper looks at the likely effect of an effective procurement procedure for construction projects on national development. Data for this paper were sourced from mainly from secondary data sources which include journal articles, textbooks, the internet and other types of literature. The paper concluded that a anybody found to have contravened the provisions of the Public Procurement Act no matter how highly placed should be prosecuted publicly and appropriate sanctions meted out to deter any other would be offender also, a sound public procurement system for public projects in the construction industry and a motivated workforce will significantly impact productivity and national development, enhance effectiveness in government spending, ensure infrastructural development and improve the welfare of the people while also reducing corruption, wastages and sharp practices to the barest minimum.