AN APPRAISAL OF THE IMPACT OF DEREGULATION OF THE OIL SECTOR ON THE NIGERIAN ECONOMY

Abstract

In the history of Nigeria, deregulating the downstream oil sector through gradual or total subsidy removal has engendered intense debate in Nigeria with the government claiming that it will guarantee long term stability in product supply and price. As a result, this will lead to an advance and well developed economic transformation in the country. According to this study, the necessity for total deregulation of the downstream oil sector in Nigeria as a remedy to economic recovery of the country is addressed. This study also examined some of the problems that are facing the deregulation of the downstream oil sector in Nigeria, which are continuous increase in petroleum price, scarcity of petroleum product and so on. In a nutshell, these are the foremost problems that are confronting the deregulation of the downstream oil sector which government has to help solve through abundant provision of fuel and ensure products price control. It is discovered in the course of this research some of the objective which will be of benefit in the total deregulation of the downstream oil sector which includes, assessing the pattern of petroleum products pricing in Nigeria, examining the consumption pattern of petroleum products before and after the deregulation, investigating the effect of the deregulation of downstream oil sector on petroleum products pricing in Nigeria, examining the likely effect of the total deregulation of the downstream oil sector on the living standard of the people across the country and investigating how total deregulation of the downstream oil sector can be of high impact on the speedy recovery of the Country’s battered economy. Also the study bought to bear the reason why partial deregulation has not yielded the desired result in terms of prices and supply. Data was collected and used in this research work, as it is an important tool to unlock new discovery in any research study. Primary data was collected through structured interview from 342 respondents via administering of questionnaires. Survey method with the use of questionnaire was adopted in collecting data. The data was presented using tables while the mean (x) and simple percentage (%) were used in the analysis of such data. The findings and conclusion in the research work were also discussed, displaying that without proper management, control and investment the revenue generated from complete deregulation of the downstream oil sector will be squandered by corrupt government stakeholders. Also, there is fuel subsidy and there is a call on its removal proximately after all the necessary measures might have been put in place to avoid risks and control its effects on Nigerians, in order to make it work successfully as expected.