ETHICAL PRACTICES IN UNIVERSITY PROCUREMENT PROCESSES AS CORRELATES OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN BENUE STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study investigated ethical practices in university procurement processes as correlates of sustainable development of public universities in Benue State, Nigeria. The purpose of the study was to investigate ethical practices in university procurement processes as correlates of sustainable development of public universities. The design adopted for this study was the correlational research design. The population comprised all 208 personnel involved in procurement-related activities across the three public universities in Benue State, Nigeria. The entire population was sampled using census sampling technique. Data were collected questionnaires titled “Ethical Practices in University Procurement Processes Questionnaire (EPUPPQ)” and “Public Universities Sustainable Development Questionnaire (PUSDQ).” The instruments were structured on a four-point rating scale of Strongly Agree (SA) = 4, Agree (A) = 3, Disagree (D) = 2, and Strongly Disagree (SD) = 1. The instruments were validated by three experts in the Faculty of Education Rev. Fr. Moses Orshio Adasu University, Makurdi. Cronbach Alpha was to determine the reliability of the instruments and the result yielded 0.87. The data collected were analyzed using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) to answer the research questions and test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study showed that show that there is a very strong positive significant correlation between accountability of procurement officers and fairness in vendor selection with sustainable development of public universities in Benue State. The study concludes that ethical practices in university procurement processes have potential to enhance sustainable development of public universities. The study recommends among others that university management and governing councils should establish and enforce strict accountability frameworks for procurement officers, including routine audits, transparent documentation systems, and mandatory reporting procedures