Petroleum Product Price Adjustment and Nigeria’s Economic Performance (1984- 2023)

This study investigated the Petroleum Product Price adjustment and Nigeria's Economic Performance during the period 1984-2023. Employing secondary data and an Ex-post facto research design, the Auto-regressive Distributed Lag method for multiple regressions was utilized for analysis due to the stationarity characteristics of the variables. The petroleum products considered in this study were Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), and Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK), while economic performance was assessed through the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Nigeria. Through the application of both descriptive and inferential statistics on the generated data, the findings unveiled robust positive relationships between PMS and GDP, AGO and GDP, and a semi-strong positive relationship between DPK and GDP in Nigeria. The study suggested that variations in petroleum prices, especially PMS and AGO, could positively and significantly impact economic growth represented by GDP. However, variations in DPK prices may not have a similar positive and significant effect on economic growth represented by GDP. The study concluded that upward adjustments in petroleum product prices are crucial for favorable economic performance. Recommendations were made for the Nigerian government to explore alternative sources of public revenue, implement a progressive taxation system, adopt austerity budgets for prudent public expenditure, diversify economic sectors, and invest in sustainable industries and services. Additionally, citizens were encouraged to focus on hard work and embrace science as a source of wealth, emphasizing the need to move beyond dependence on depleted resources for revenue generation.