BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY FOR TRANSPARENT PUBLIC PROCUREMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN EBONYI STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Corruption, inefficiency and absence of transparency in public procurement procedures in the developing economies such as Nigeria are usually characterized by massive losses to economy and loss of confidence by the people. In this work, the possibility of the use of blockchain technology to improve transparency and accountability in the public procurement process in the state of Ebonyi, Nigeria, will be analyzed. The theoretical frameworks that are incorporated in the study to evaluate the viability of blockchain, using a mixed-method approach, include the Technology Acceptance Model and the Transaction Cost Theory. Structured surveys were administered to 250 participants, comprising of procurement officials, contractors and the citizens in Ebonyi State as primary data collection methods, and in-depth interviews conducted on 20 key stakeholders. Demographic logistics show that the pool of participants is mainly aged 31-50 (62%), with a biggest percentage of 55 being male, and a majority 45 being female with the largest proportion of 68 belonging to urban areas and most of the participants possessing a bachelors degree (74%). The results show that blockchain may lower the levels of corruption because it offers imoatility, automated compliance by utilizing smart contracts, and real-time auditing that can save as much as 25% of the procurement expenses according to the simulated model. Nevertheless, the issues of inadequacy in technological infrastructure, regulatory gaps, and opposition to adoption exist. The paper points out the ways in which blockchain is in line with the Public Procurement Act of 2007 signed into law in Nigeria, which provides an avenue to a more responsible way of allocating resources. It would be recommended to pilot the change in infrastructure works in Ebonyi State and capacity-building programs. The paper allows to add to the accounting literature by proving that blockchain can be used in forensic accounting and internal controls to combine past foundational research on distributed ledgers with current use of blockchain in governance. All in all, blockchain is a disruptive technology to promote responsibility in the resource-deprived environments, and the concept can be applied to the African scenes, in general.