Deregulation policy and development in Nigeria: the petroleum sector experience, 1999-2014

Abstract

Some scholars have argued that businesses are better organised and managed by the private sector in a development oriented manner. This line of argument accepts the point that there is a relationship between deregulation policy and development, and supports the call for government to remove all restrictions to private sector participation in the economy. Deregulation policy which allows market forces to determine prices and promote efficiency in public sector management is a response to this challenge. With the adoption of the historical research method, secondary data were collected to examine deregulation policy and the development nexus of the Nigerian petroleum sector and concluded that for the deregulation policy of the petroleum sector to achieve its goal of development in Nigeria, government at all levels should put in place measures to fight corruption, reduce the cost of governance and earn citizens' trust in its activities which must be geared towards effective service delivery as a catalyst for the successful implementation of government deregulation policy in Nigeria.

Keywords: Deregulation policy, development, petroleum sector, employment