Rent Seeking and Group Interest on Petroleum Revenue in the Nigerian Economy: a Causality Approach

The study examines rent seeking and group interest on petroleum income and the effect on the Nigerian economy. To achieve the objective of this paper, relevant secondary and primary data were obtained from published scholar works and questionnaires and relevant statistical models were used for analysis. The study reveals that rent seeking and group interest is a fundamental problem affecting the socio-economic and political development of Nigeria with impunity by the political class, the mafia, militants, Boko Haram and oil cabals in order to share in the resource pie as a result of the huge petroleum income accruable to the nation. It does not only penalize or disrupt productive activities, distorts the entire economy and hinders economic growth where significant percent of public funds and oil revenue are diverted into their personal accounts and private pockets. On the basis of this result, the paper concludes that for the huge amount of petroleum income in Nigeria to improve the living standards of the people, the citizens must show a high level of ethical behavior of integrity, honesty and accountability for the level of massive corruption in the country to be minimized for the citizens to benefit from the huge petroleum income in Nigeria.