AN APPRAISAL OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY OF OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY IN NIGER DELTA FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

ABSTRACT

This study appraised the corporate social responsibility of multinational oil companies (MNOCs) to social economic problems in Niger Delta Nigeria with the following specific objectives sought to: (i) determine the extent to which MNOCs provide jobs opportunity for graduates from oil host communities, (ii) ascertain the extent to which oil MNOCs provide job opportunities for unskilled workers in oil host communities, (iii) ascertain the extent MNOCs empower household through the award of scholarship to their children and (iv) determine the  extent the MNOCs  contribute toward community development of oil host communities. The study had a population size 3,803129 out of which a sample size of 1901 was realised using William kelinger formula of 5% error tolerance and 95 level of confidence. The method used for the collection of data was questionnaire. Out of 1901 copies questionnaire that were distributed, 1,775 copies were returned while 126 copies were not returned. Cross-sectional quantitative research design was adopted for the study. The hypotheses were tested using correlation coefficient. The findings indicate that MNOCs to a large extent contributed to the provision of employment to university graduates from their host community (R = 0.816, f= 3526-223, t=59.382, p<0.05), MNOCs to a large extent contributed to the provision of employment to unskilled workers in their host communities as a give back strategies (r. = 0.893, f= 7017-812, t= 83-772, p<0.05), MNOCs to a large extent contributed to household empowerment through the award of scholarships (r. = 0.852, f= 4707.438, t=68.611, p<0.05) and MNOCs to a large extent contributed to community development through the provision   of some basic infrastructures (r. = 0.853, f= 4721.904, t= 68.716, p < 0.05). the study found that MrNOCs  to a large extent perform their corporate social responsibility which also confirm their integrity concept  but such community assistance programmes has not really enhance sustainable development of oil host communities due to the danger from the persistent gas flare and oil spillage from exploratory activities of multinational oil companies in host communities hence the need to shift their corporate social responsibility from community assistance to community development and environmental sustainability by ensuring that the activity line is merged sustainable measures. Also, it is corporate social responsibility of Government to ensure that multinational oil companies adhere to sustainable measures in their activity line even as they perform their corporate responsibility in host communities hence it will be accounted to her as failure.