Oil Vandalism Cost and Economic Growth in Nigeria.

Abstract:

The study investigated oil vandalism cost and economic growth in Nigeria from 1970-2022. The specific objective was to determine the economic implication of oil vandalism on the overall growth of the Nigerian economy, particularly the Niger Delta Region. The date required was obtained from the following sources: Nigerian Natural Resource Charter (NNRC), National Bureau of Statistics(NBS), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Pipeline and Product Marketing Company (PPMC). The study applied unit roottest for stationarity. The Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) techniques were employed. As expected, all the variables in the long run have a negative sign implying that activities of oil pipeline vandalism have a negative effect on economic growth. A unit increase in the crude oil lost, cost of repair/ maintenance and product losses respectively, will induce a negative effect on GDP. The study concluded that oil vandalism does have negative effect on the economy in the long run. It therefore recommends that the government should look at the challenge of militancy in the Niger Delta region for once, not to promise them heaven on earth, but at least try to meet some of their legitimate demands.