Abstract
Why are host communities where oil companies are operating in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria undeveloped despite huge contribution of petroleum resources to the economy? This question has led to debates among scholars on the role and operation of multinational oil companies in Nigeria. To address this question, detailed literature search was conducted including reviewing archival documents, company information and media reports in order to gain a richer understanding why there is so much poverty, absence of social mobility and negation of socio-economic and infrastructural development in the Niger Delta region. This study also examines how Nigeria’s abundant wealth is distributed by some public agencies in oil and gas sector in contemporary Nigeria. The study found that transformative leadership would involve not only the government, but also collaboration and support from crude oil companies, NGOs as well as the local communities. Essentially, the government, politicians, local leaders and crude oil companies must provide a fertile business footprint which can allow less privileged people and communities within and outside the Niger Delta region to develop their capacity and creativity. This study recommends that the concept of community co-operatives which would make a difference to the wider population in the region is a model that must be embraced. Key words: Nigeria, Niger Delta, corporate governance, CSR, stakeholders, public agencies, wealth distribution, economic development, poverty alleviation.
Highlights
The context of this paper as introduced in the abstract leads Omoweh (2005) to postulate that the country has witnessed constant instability and summarised that Nigeria represents a fragmented capitalist tool, but like other capitalist projects, exists merely to propagate capitalist objectives which directly or indirectly create opportunity for selfish and fraudulent acquisition of wealth
Given the aforementioned measures and the plurality of agencies in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria and taking cognisance that 90% of the total export of the nation‟s oil wealth is derived from the Niger Delta region (Owolabi et al, 2014), the question that comes to mind is: why have most host communities in the Niger Delta remained impoverished and lack basic social amenities and infrastructural development more than 50 years since oil exploration and exploitation began in the region?
Back in 1998, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) created in the 1950‟s to function as government agency with the responsibility to license and regulate oil companies involved in upstream and downstream activities in Nigeria in conjunction with the Minister of Petroleum Resources and National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) were all connected in a complex oil bloc reserve deal commonly identified as OPL 245, an offshore location in the Niger Delta (Akinbajo, 2012)
Summary
Public agencies in Nigeria’s oil sector: Wealth distribution, economic development and poverty alleviation in the Niger Delta. This question has led to debates among scholars on the role and operation of multinational oil companies in Nigeria. To address this question, detailed literature search was conducted including reviewing archival documents, company information and media reports in order to gain a richer understanding why there is so much poverty, absence of social mobility and negation of socio-economic and infrastructural development in the Niger Delta region. This study examines how Nigeria’s abundant wealth is distributed by some public agencies in oil and gas sector in contemporary Nigeria.
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