The FOIA and Public Procurement: Enhancing Accountability and Public Participation in Nigeria

Abstract

This paper focuses on the impact of the Freedom of information Act (FOIA) enacted in 2011 on public procurement in Nigeria in terms of accountability and participation. As such, it employs the principal-agent methodology and concludes that the agency problems inherent in public procurement and some of the attendant consequences such as government failures and market failures can be addressed with the enforcement of the FOIA 2011. These corrective measures include (but not limited to) providing access to information, choice, fair market price, and the ability to enforce contracts; as well as electronic reporting, protection of whistle blowers, oversight functions, private public partnership, citizens report card, and efficient participation of the media and civil society organizations.

Keywords: Adverse selection, Agency problem, Asymmetric information, FOIA, Market failure, Moral hazard, Principal-Agent methodology, Procurement.