Quality In Nigeria Research Articles

Another insight into the contamination levels at Ogoniland in Niger Delta, Nigeria, with focus on Goi Creek.

Environmental pollution arising from crude oil exploratory activities has adversely impacted both the living and non-living components of the ecosystem. An insight into the impact of such activities with focus on Goi Creek in Ogoniland was provided in this study. We generated reliable data for physicochemical, heavy metal, and total hydrocarbon levels in the creek via a total of 40 samples collected across 4 stations designated within the creek in a duration of 10 months. With the exception of temperature, total dissolve solid, dissolved oxygen, chloride, sulfate, nitrate, zinc, and vanadium, the levels of other regulated parameters in the samples were not compatible with the national and international guidelines and standards for surface water quality including Federal Ministry of Environment Guidelines and standards for water quality in Nigeria and Environmental Protection Agency National recommended water quality criteria, respectively. The principal components (PCs) 1 and 2 of principal component analysis biplot revealed that the concentrations of the physicochemical parameters showed a mixed distribution among the stations; however, the heavy metals were more localized to station 4. Moreover, the dataset was subjected to water quality index (WQI), contamination index (Cd), heavy metal evaluation index (HEI), trace element toxicity index (TETI), and environmental water quality index (EWQI) to determine the extent of contamination. The result showed poor WQI, high contamination for Cd, and low-to-medium contamination for HEI. Although, there were variations among the stations on the contamination level, uniform remediation method should be adopted due to the similarity of the contaminants in all the stations.

The Effects of 2011 Revised Code of Corporate Governance on Financial Reporting Quality in Nigeria: The Role of Board of Directors and Audit Committee Members

The Effects of 2011 Revised Code of Corporate Governance on Financial Reporting Quality in Nigeria: The Role of Board of Directors and Audit Committee Members

Season, not lockdown, improved air quality during COVID-19 State of Emergency in Nigeria

Globally, ambient air pollution claims ~9 million lives yearly, prompting researchers to investigate changes in air quality. Of special interest is the impact of COVID-19 lockdown. Many studies reported substantial improvements in air quality during lockdowns compared with pre-lockdown or as compared with baseline values. Since the lockdown period coincided with the onset of the rainy season in some tropical countries such as Nigeria, it is unclear if such improvements can be fully attributed to the lockdown. We investigate whether significant changes in air quality in Nigeria occurred primarily due to statewide COVID-19 lockdown. We applied a neural network approach to derive monthly average ground-level fine aerosol optical depth (AODf) across Nigeria from year 2001–2020, using the Multi-angle Implementation of Atmospheric Correction (MAIAC) AODs from Terra and Aqua Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellites, AERONET aerosol optical properties, meteorological and spatial parameters. During the year 2020, we found a 21% or 26% decline in average AODf level across Nigeria during lockdown (April) as compared to pre-lockdown (March), or during the easing phase-1 (May) as compared to lockdown, respectively. Throughout the 20-year period, AODf levels were highest in January and lowest in May or June, but not April. Comparison of AODf levels between 2020 and 2019 shows a small decline (1%) in pollution level in April of 2020 compare to 2019. Using a linear time-lag model to compare changes in AODf levels for similar months from 2002 to 2020, we found no significant difference (Levene's test and ANCOVA; α = 0.05) in the pollution levels by year, which indicates that the lockdown did not significantly improve air quality in Nigeria. Impact analysis using multiple linear regression revealed that favorable meteorological conditions due to seasonal change in temperature, relative humidity, planetary boundary layer height, wind speed and rainfall improved air quality during the lockdown.

The impact of renewable energy consumption on sectoral environmental quality in Nigeria

This paper examines the impact of renewable energy consumption on sectoral environmental quality in the presence of government effectiveness in Nigeria. A regression analysis was used to estimate a dataset for the period of 1989–2019. Sectoral environmental quality indicators and sectoral output were considered from the agricultural sector, manufacturing and construction sector, transportation sector, oil sector, residential buildings and commercial and public services sector, other sectors and per capita indicator. The result shows that renewable energy consumption does not have a favourable impact on the environmental quality of the agricultural sector, manufacturing and construction sector and oil sector. However, renewable energy consumption has a favourable impact on the environmental quality of the transportation sector, residential buildings, commercial and public services sector. Nevertheless, renewable energy consumption has a neutral impact on the environmental quality of other sectors. Policy implications were drawn after considering the expected value of sectoral environmental quality indicators with significant elasticities.

Financial Instability and the State of Environmental Quality in Nigeria

The study aims to look at the relationship between environmental quality and financial instability in Nigerian over the period of 1970 to 2019 respectively. The Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model is used in estimating the short-run as well as the long-run relationship between financial instability and the quality of the environment. The results of the study reveal that financial instability has a significant and positive impact on CO2 emissions, implying that financial instability is lowering the quality of environment in Nigeria. In addition, consistency and strength are verified by the application of numerous tests of diagnostic. The research introduces new insights that would not only be of benefit in advancing prevailing research but may also be of specific concern to policymakers in the financial sector of the country and its starring role in enhancing the quality of the environment. The results recommend that to prevent financial instability and its effect on environmental degradation in the light of policy consequences, financial sector reforms should be implemented with great caution.

Trade openness and economic growth nexus: Exploring the role of institutional quality in Nigeria

This study attempts to fill the prior knowledge gap in the nexus between trade openness and economic growth in Nigeria by incorporating the role of institutional quality. The study covers the period from 1984 to 2017 and employs three indicators of trade openness including total trade, import trade, and export trade. Cointegration among the variables is examined using the ARDL bounds testing approach. The results provide evidence of a long-run relationship among the variables. The estimates suggest that export trade has a significant positive impact on economic growth while the impact of import trade on economic growth is negative and significant. The results also show that the negative long-run effects of import trade on economic growth in Nigeria decreases as institutional quality (quality of governance) improves. These empirical results have important policy implications for Nigeria. Among others, this study highlights the needs to improve the quality of governance in the country. Good governance and quality institutions can help channel the dividends of trade openness into growth-enhancing activities.

Review of Drinking Water Quality in Nigeria: Towards Attaining the Sustainable Development Goal Six

Abstract Access to potable water is a major problem confronting most developing nations particularly with the overwhelming health burden posed by polluted water and its sources. In this review, studies on the level of contamination of drinking water sources in different geopolitical zones in Nigeria were assessed. The anthropogenic activities eliciting the pollutions were extensively discussed. Overall, the level of Nigeria preparedness in meeting the sustainable development goal number 6 (SDG no 6: to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all) was evaluated. Cogent methods that could enhance the achievement of SDG no. 6 were suggested. From our analysis of published literature, pre- and post- SDG implementation in Nigeria, it is clear that no significant progress has been made in providing potable water for all in Nigeria. All implementing partners must therefore rejig the process to ensure the availability of potable water, in order to achieve the sustainable development goal six.

Material and Substance Flow Analysis of Used Lead Acid Batteries in Nigeria: Implications for Recovery and Environmental Quality.

Background.As resources become scarce, information from material and substance flow analysis can help to improve material recovery policy. The flow of toxic substances such as lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), arsenic (As) and antimony (Sb) can be used as a basis for appropriate risk management decisions for optimum environmental quality.Objectives.The present study examined a material and substance flow analysis of used lead acid batteries (ULAB) from motor vehicles and implications for environmental quality in Nigeria.Methods.Information on motor vehicle imports was obtained from the literature. Mathematical models were constructed and used for the material and substance flow analysis. Samples of 50 brands of ULAB pastes were digested using a microwave digestion system followed by elemental determination (Pb, Cd, silver (Ag), As, cobalt (Co), calcium (Ca), Cr, copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), Sb, selenium (Se), and tellurium (Te)) with inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy.Results.Approximately 4.8 million tons (Mt) lead acid batteries (LAB) from vehicles was used in Nigeria between 1980 and 2014, out of which approximately 2.6 Mt had reached end-of-life (EoL) stages. From the total amount in EoL, approximately 2.3 Mt was recycled, and 0.3 Mt was landfilled. Among the toxic elements, Pb, Cd and As were the most abundant in ULAB; and of the valuable elements, Fe and Cu had the highest levels. Approximately 3.5 Mt of Pb was used in the past (1980–2014) in ULAB for motor vehicles, out of which approximately 1.9 Mt tons was in EoL stages.Discussion.The results revealed that the battery pastes were heterogeneous. Only Pb exceeded the total threshold limit concentration (TTLC) of 1000 mg/kg. The TTLC describes the safe levels or concentration of heavy metals in the environment. The levels observed for other metals in this study were below the TTLC values. The present study estimated an average life span for lead acid batteries in motor vehicles in Nigeria of 5 years, suggesting an additional 2.2 Mt at EoL by 2019. High concentrations of Pb in air, water and soil carry the potential for contamination of food products, especially in Nigeria, where food is traditionally prepared and sold in open air markets in an unregulated manner.Conclusions.High amounts of toxic elements present in the various life cycle stages signal potential environmental and human health hazards.Competing Interests.The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Enhancing quality of education in the university system: A study of Nigerian education system

How to enhance and maintain quality of education in Nigerian University education system has become one of the central issues in educational assessment and evaluation. It is important to note that no nation can rise above the standard of her education. The quality of education in Nigeria is presently rated as low. Many scholars have observed that many graduates are unemployable because they lack relevant and required skills. Therefore, this paper examines the present educational quality in Nigeria, reasons for the current trend, assessment issues, advantages and disadvantages of computer-based tests in the university system, recruitment of staff without thorough assessment and politics of accreditation in Nigeria. It was concluded that the quality of education in the University system can be enhanced and maintained through qualitative assessment. Also, there is the need to review the process of recruitment of staff, accreditation procedures, monitoring and evaluation of standard as well as students’ assessment practices.

Assessment of Extension Officers Contribution to Cocoa Production in Nigeria

This study was carried out to evaluate the extension officer contribution to cocoa production in Nigeria. Multistage sampling technique was used, where two hundred and sixteen questionnaires were distributed in Osun and Ondo state , the information gathered were analyzed using descriptive statistic such as; frequency and percentage, while chi-square analysis was used to analyze the data obtained. From the results, married (77.6%), male (84.0%), secondary school holders (52.0%), between 40-49 (34.4%) years old farmers were seen as the highest cocoa producers. Extension training(64.0%), commercial agents(64.0%), fellowship(52.8%), self observation(76.0%) were the best source of information on extension service of cocoa farming , most respondents (65.0%); get extension training programme at regular basis, identified Constraints facing cocoa production in the study area includes deficient credit facilities, high cost of labour, bad road, poor marketing/storage facilities, lack of technical knowledge / assess to technical tools and so on. in view of afore mentioned result it is therefore recommended that the government should make loan available to the cocoa famers at very low interest rate and urge cocoa farmers to form cooperative society, strengthen their agricultural extension agents so that they will be able to rain cocoa farmers on the basic things they should know about primary processing such as fermentation and drying of cocoa beans in improving the quality in Nigeria to meet international market.
 Keywords: Assessment, Extension officer, Contribution, Farmers, Cocoa production

Monetary Policy and Commercial Banks Assets Quality in Nigeria: Panel Data Analysis

This study examined the effect of monetary policy on assets quality indicator of Nigeria commercial bank soundness from 2009 to 2018. Cross sectional data were sourced from annual reports of commercial banks and Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletin. Assets quality indicator of commercial banks soundness was used as proxies for the dependent variables while cash reserve ratios, open market operation rates, monetary policy rates, treasury bills rates and money supply were used as proxies for the independent variables. Panel data methodology was employed while the fixed effects model was used as estimation technique at 5% level of significance. Fixed effects, random effects and pooled estimates were tested while the Hausman test was used to determine the best fit. Panel unit roots and panel cointegration analysis were conducted on the study. Findings of the study proved that cash reserve ratio, open market operations rates, monetary policy rates and treasury bills rates have no significant relationship with assets quality indicators of commercial banks in Nigeria. However, Money supply has significant relationship with assets quality indicators of commercial bank soundness in Nigeria. From the findings we recommend that Central Bank of Nigeria should intensify the use money supply as a veritable effective monetary policy tool to achieve bank soundness in Nigeria. Furthermore, CBN should redefine these monetary policy instruments such as open market operation and adjust the monetary policy rate by reducing the cash reserve ratio which will increase liquidity to enable the commercial banks to discharge their lending and investment duties effectively to the public. The cash reserve ratio should be used to complement the open market operations in ensuring that excess liquidity or lack of it in the banking system is minimized. It was further recommended that CBN should look beyond monetary policy in her regulatory governance of commercial banks as most monetary policy tools currently deployed do not have significant relationship with commercial bank soundness indicators within the periods covered in this study.

Environmental Liability Provisions and Earnings Persistence of Oil Firms in Nigeria

The purpose of this study is to examine whether provision for environmental liability is associated with earnings persistence of oil firms in Nigeria. The study also examines whether changes in provision for environmental liability is associated with earnings quality. Data from four oil firms for the period 2012 to 2018 were analysed using ordinary least square regression with robust standard errors. Two hypotheses formulated for the study were tested by regressing future earnings on current earnings and other variables. Results showed that environmental liability provisions were not significantly related to earnings persistence. Changes in these provisions were also insignificantly related to earnings quality. The evidence supports institutional theory as basis for explaining the relationship between environmental liability provisions and earnings quality in Nigeria; indicating that the relationship is not driven by ethical considerations or stakeholder concern. There is need for a legal framework for environmental financial reporting in Nigeria to ensure that the environmental obligations of all polluting firms are adequately accounted for, and earnings numbers are ethically reported.

Dynamics of Oil Receipts, Health Expenditure and Health Quality in Nigeria

The determinant of health status has received an extensive attention in the literature for a large number of studies across the world. Empirical studies have explored the relationship between health expenditure and health status; however, the dynamic relationship amongst oil receipts, health expenditure and health quality is an empirical issue that has received little attention particularly in Nigeria. This study investigated the tripartite relationship among oil receipts, health expenditure on health status in Nigeria using pairwise granger causality test and autoregressive distributive lag approach (ARDL). The study shows that unidirectional causality runs from oil receipts to health expenditure and health quality. There is also bidirectional causality between health expenditure and health quality. The cointegration result revealed there is long run relationship among these variables. This study also found that oil revenue and health expenditure have negative and significant impact on child mortality rate but positive and significant effect on life expectancy. This finding obviously would facilitate the policies that will improve health sector in Nigeria. Keywords: Oil Receipts, Health Expenditure, Health Quality, Granger Causality, ARDL, Nigeria DOI: 10.7176/JRDM/67-06 Publication date: July 31 st 2020

Testing the nexus between renewable energy consumption and environmental quality in Nigeria: The role of broad‐based financial development

AbstractThis study investigates the nexus between renewable energy consumption and environmental quality in Nigeria, accounting for the role of financial development, and re‐examines the validity of the environmental Kuznet curve (EKC) hypothesis for Nigeria covering the period 1990 to 2016. To cover financial development more adequately, the current study uses the broad‐based financial development index constructed by the International Monetary Fund. The study employs second generation econometric approaches of Lee and Strazicich, and Bayer and Hanck combined cointegration tests to check for stationarity and cointegration among the variables, and then applies autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) and vector error correction model (VECM) Granger causality tests to explore the effect and causal relationship respectively. The results divulge that renewable energy consumption improves environmental quality, while financial development hurts the environment. Further, the results validate an inverted U‐shaped association between economic growth and environmental degradation in Nigeria. The VECM Granger causality results indicate a long‐run effect of the independent variables on CO2 emission, while the short‐run causality reveals a mixture of unidirectional and bidirectional causality among the variables. This study therefore recommends that policy makers consider the important roles of renewable energy and financial development in reforming energy policies to achieve environmental sustainability.

A Review of Air Quality and Concentrations of Air Pollutants in Nigeria

This study generally classifies air pollutants on the basis of: primary or secondary, natural or anthropogenic, chemical composition, physical state, and the space scales of their effects. Air pollutants that affect air quality in Nigeria were discussed based on natural and anthropogenic sources. The natural sources include: sand dust, sea spray, volcanic activities, smoke and carbon monoxide from wildfires among others, while the anthropogenic sources include: vehicular emissions, mining activities, industries such as cement companies and quarry factories, agricultural practices and solid waste dumps among others. Some of the atmospheric pollutants that posed greatest threat to human health were equally examined. They include: Sulphur dioxide (SO2) which can react with water vapor (H2O) in the atmosphere to form sulphuric acid (H2SO4) and thus acid rain; particulate matter (PM) with less than 10 μm, particularly fine particles (PM2.5 ) and particles in the fine fraction that are smaller than 0.1 μm (ultrafine particles), can carry toxic chemicals which are linked to cancer; carbon monoxide (CO), even in very small concentrations, can prevent oxygen from being delivered through the body major organs; ozone which is a highly reactive gas causes oxidation of a number of macromolecules within a biological system and produces free radicals that can damage DNA molecules and cause carcinogenesis. Based on the aforementioned, this study recommends that priority should be given to the establishment of air monitoring stations in all urban centers of the country in order to provide accurate and continuous information on air quality. 
 Keywords: anthropogenic pollutants, atmosphere, particulate matter, pollution

CO2 EMISSIONS AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS IN NIGERIA

Since the discovery of oil in 1956, the Nigerian economy has been dependent on fossil fuel as a means of energy generation, hence causing excessive emission of carbon dioxide in the environment. Given this background, this study investigates the effect of fossil fuel consumption on environmental quality in Nigeria. The study used secondary data from 1970- 2017 obtained from World Development Index (WDI) and employs the Johansen co-integration analysis. The result reveals that about 80% of carbon emissions in Nigeria are directly consequence of fossil fuel combustion. Also, within the period observed, pollution was found to be a rising function of income and pollution rises as communities becomes more densely populated. The study recommends an urgent design of sustainable energy framework and national sensitization on the multidimensional adverse consequences of the use of dirty fuels.Keywords: CO2 emissions, Fossil fuel, Environment, Climate ChangeJEL Classifications: Q53, L71, P28, Q54DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.8050

Inclusive Growth Effects of Institutional Quality in Nigeria

This study empirically examined the relationships between institutional quality and inclusive growth as measured by the real GDP per person employed (RGDPE) in Nigeria. An Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) Boundstesting approach to cointegration was employed using annual secondary time series data from 1998 to 2017. The data were sourced from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s statistical Bulletin, National Bureau of Statistics’ final Accounts, IMF’s International Financial Statistics (IFS) and Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGIs). The study concluded that institutional quality had a significant effect on inclusive growth in Nigeria. It is therefore recommended that institutional improvement beyond the present liberal democratic threshold is much needed to effectively harness the human capital resource base. The Nigerian government should adopt a labour-intensive development strategy such that poor active households are comprehensively integrated into productive activities for optimal value-chain finance-growth inclusiveness. This would address the protracted tripartite socio-economic problems of poverty, inequality and unemployment in line with Lin’s comparative advantage conforming hypothesis. e. This would enhance formulating and implementing employment growth-oriented policies that are compatible with the society’s resources endowment and developmental goals.

International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and Reporting Quality in Nigeria: An Assessment of Selected Quoted Firms

This study investigates the effect of IFRS adoption on reporting quality in Nigeria. Secondary data were sourced from financial reports of a sample of 79 quoted Nigerian firms, with the help of Nimegen Centre for Economics (NiCE) qualitative reporting index for reporting quality. The study covered a period of 10 years, i.e. 2007 to 2011 as SAS regime and 2012 to 2016 IFRS regime. ANOVA test and descriptive analysis, were utilised for the analysis. The study concludes that, IFRS adoption has made significant positive difference in the extent of reporting quality. It is recommended that Nigerian firms should adopt appropriate measures to improve the level of relevance, comparability and verifiability of their financial reports through provision of more forward looking information, reduction in the use of technical jargons and appointment of more reputable audit firms.

Does Talent Management Practices Impact Service Quality in Nigeria?

Over the years, the field of talent management has attracted much attention among stakeholders. Therefore, this present study aims to explicitly state whether talent management impacts service quality. The population of the study was 275 employees of the National Institute for Labour Studies. However, the study purposely administered 250 questionnaires because we had to use structural equation modeling analysis to analyzed the collected data. The outcomes of the analysis our result have confirmed the following: (1) talent attraction have an impact on service quality, (2) talent retention affect service quality, (3) reward strategy affects service quality, (4) The relationship between talent attraction and service quality mediated by reward strategy, and (5) The relationship between talent retention and service quality mediated by reward strategy. Based on our findings, it can be inferred that service quality improvements have been influenced by attraction and retention of talent, and a weak relationship between the variables can be strengthened through a reward strategy. This study contributed to a different system of talent management and service quality relationships that should be included in strategic planning. Therefore, the institutes, other organizations, and the government can use employ attraction and retention talent to improve service quality in their realm.

Corporate Governance and Audit Quality in Nigeria

The motivation for this study emanates from the perception that the production of a quality audit report fosters confidence in financial reports by the issuers of those reports. The paper examines specifically the role of corporate governance in determining the audit quality of firms. The study utilised 71 non-financial firms for the periods 2008 to 2015. Audit quality was measured using a dummy variable of “1” and “0”, with 1 representing the use of a big four auditor by the firm and 0 otherwise. Corporate governance was proxy with board independence measured using the ratio of non-executive directors to total directors. The data collected was analysed using the binary regression analysis. The findings reveal that board independence is negatively related to audit quality. The study highlights the importance of having proper mix of competences on the board. The study recommends that the composition of non-executive directors as members of the board should be sustained and improved upon.