DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AND BUREAUCRATIC REFORM IN NIGERIA: IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC SECTOR EFFICIENCY

Abstract

Abstract Digital transformation has become a central strategy for bureaucratic reform in developing countries, particularly to enhance public-sector efficiency and advance sustainable development. In Nigeria, reforms in payroll management, public procurement, financial systems, digital identity infrastructure, and open government data are widely promoted as mechanisms for modernising the public bureaucracy. However, their capacity to deliver measurable efficiency gains and advance Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 8, 9, and 16) remains contested. This paper examines the implications of digital transformation for bureaucratic reform and public sector efficiency in Nigeria. Drawing on New Public Management, Institutional Theory, and Sociotechnical Systems Theory, the study adopts a qualitative design based on secondary data, including policy documents, government reports, and existing empirical studies across six reform domains. Findings show that while digital initiatives have improved procedural transparency and standardisation, efficiency gains remain uneven and are constrained by entrenched institutional weaknesses, fragmented governance structures, and limited subnational capacity. The paper argues that a predominantly technocratic reform approach, insufficiently aligned with political and institutional realities, undermines transformative outcomes. The study concludes that without strengthened accountability, institutional coherence, and subnational inclusion, digital transformation in Nigeria risks yielding symbolic rather than substantive improvements in public sector efficiency.