BRIDGING IMPLEMENTATION GAPS IN NIGERIA’S SUSTAINABLE ENERGY POLICIES: A PROJECT MANAGEMENT PROCESS GROUP AND STAKEHOLDER AWARENESS ANALYSIS

<p><strong><em>Purpose:</em></strong> <em>This study investigated the persistent implementation gap within Nigeria's sustainable energy sector by examining how stakeholder awareness and the application of Project Management Process Groups (PMPGs) influence policy performance.</em></p> <p><strong><em>Design/methodology/approach:</em></strong> <em>Utilising a quantitative descriptive survey design, data were collected from 290 stratified stakeholders, including government officials, project managers, community representatives, and energy consultants, via a validated questionnaire (r = 0.84). The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and Chi-Square tests at a 0.05 significance level.</em></p> <p><strong><em>Findings:</em></strong> <em>The results reveal a moderate but uneven familiarity with sustainable energy policies, with 90.9% of respondents rating PMPGs as critical for success. Crucially, a statistically significant association (&chi;² = 18.472, p = 0.001) was established between policy familiarity and specific framework awareness, confirming that deeper knowledge enhances implementation engagement.</em></p> <p><strong><em>Research limitations/implications:</em></strong> <em>A primary limitation of the work is its reliance on self-reported survey metrics within a single national environment. Its contribution is providing concrete empirical evidence demonstrating that bridging the implementation gap requires elevating both grassroots literacy and institutional frameworks.</em></p> <p><strong><em>Practical implications:</em></strong> <em>Nigerian energy institutions must shift from top-down administrative models. It is recommended that they launch decentralised communication strategies, targeted policy literacy campaigns, structured lifecycle capacity-building, and integrated monitoring-feedback systems to prevent implementation failure.</em></p> <p><strong><em>Originality/value:</em></strong> <em>The study provides original empirical evidence at the intersection of public energy governance and structured project management, demonstrating that bridging gaps requires a simultaneous elevation of stakeholder literacy and project lifecycle frameworks within developing economies.</em></p>