INSTITUTIONAL DISCRETION AND POLICY IMPLEMENTATION FIDELITY IN NIGERIA'S PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP FRAMEWORK: A DOCUMENTARY ANALYSIS OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE CONCESSION REGULATORY COMMISSION

Abstract

The effectiveness of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) policy is determined not just by the strength of formal regulations, but also by how public institutions interpret and apply them to specific transactions. This article examines how Nigeria's federal PPP framework authorises and structures discretion, and how it affects policy implementation integrity, with the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) as the institutional focus. A qualitative documentary design is used, primarily focusing on documents issued between 2024 and September 2026, with an analytical framework derived from street-level bureaucracy and institutional theory. The study contends that fidelity entails adhering to the substantive objectives of policy rather than mechanical procedural compliance, and that differential approval levels, standardised standards, and the Model PPP Agreement organise discretion rather than restrict it. It argues that clearer regulations can minimise procedural ambiguity but not substantive uncertainty, and delegation without technical capacity shifts the implementation challenge. The 2026 transfer of Akanu Ibiam International Airport (Enugu) is used as illustrative rather than causal evidence. The article recommends, among others, that relevant government agencies in the infrastructure ecosystem should adopt standardised coordination protocols for multi-agency PPP transactions, and should assign a lead institution for each transaction, set response times for inter-agency clearances, and provide for the tracking and accounting of delays, without reducing regulatory requirements. This would reduce institutional ambiguity and improve information flow.