BUILDING BETTER FUTURES: UNLOCKING THE POTENTIALS OF PUBLIC PROCUREMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE WORKERS AND COMMUNITIES

This study focuses on building better futures by exploring how public procurement can be leveraged to foster sustainable worker welfare and community engagement in Nigeria's construction sector. Current procurement practices emphasize environmental and economic priorities but frequently overlook the social aspects. The research identifies deficiencies in Nigeria's Public Procurement Act (PPA) 2007, calling for reforms to better support social value creation that align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. An exploratory sequential mixed-methods approach was employed, beginning with 19 semi-structured interviews within one public tertiary institution. The qualitative findings informed a survey of 121 construction professionals from public tertiary institutions across 11 Northern Nigerian states. Themes rooted in worker welfare, and community well-being were highlighted, alongside barriers like inadequate statutory frameworks and weak client commitment. It proposes practical strategies to embed social considerations into procurement, aiming to improve workers' condition, and strengthen community engagements. It also recognised legislative reforms as essential to adopting and advancing sustainable and socially responsible procurement practices in Nigeria.