Barriers to Anti-Corruption and Transparency Units’ Communication In Promoting Transparent Procurement Practices in Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies in Abuja, Nigeria

Abstract

Effective anti-corruption communication is an important component of transparency, accountability and ethical governance. However, communication alone is unlikely to produce sustainable procurement reform where institutional controls, information systems and enforcement mechanisms are weak. This study examines barriers that hinder Anti-Corruption and Transparency Units (ACTUs) from communicating effectively to promote transparent procurement practices in Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in Abuja, Nigeria. It adopts a qualitative scoping-review design guided by the Joanna Briggs Institute framework and reported in accordance with the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews. Searches covered Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, African Journals Online and relevant official repositories, with emphasis on traceable empirical and institutional sources published from 2020 to April 2026. Fourteen core evidence sources met the final inclusion criteria, while legislation, methodological texts, and foundational theoretical works served as contextual sources. The analytical framework integrates Diffusion of Innovations Theory, Principal-Agent Theory and Institutional Theory. Findings show that barriers cluster around three interrelated domains: structural and technological constraints affecting procurement information, digital systems and disclosure; organisational and institutional constraints affecting ACTU capacity, reporting channels, leadership support and oversight; and behavioural and political-economy constraints involving incentives for non-compliance, fear of retaliation, patronage pressures and weak accountability. The review further shows that awareness is necessary but insufficient: communication produces stronger transparency outcomes when linked to accessible procurement information, credible monitoring, e-procurement, organisational support and enforceable accountability. The study concludes that ACTU communication should be embedded in the wider procurement-governance architecture rather than treated as a stand-alone sensitisation activity. It recommends strengthening ACTU reporting capacity, sustaining procurement information publication, expanding end-to-end e-procurement, improving internal reporting protections, leadership-backed behaviour-change communication, and systematically monitoring communication outcomes.