CLIMATE CHANGE GOVERNANCE, CORRUPTION AND INSTITUTUTIONAL FAILURE IN THE NIGER DELTA REGION OF NIGERIA

Abstract

The phenomenon of climate change has grown to become one of the greatest challenges of mankind in contemporary times. Consequently, different countries have adopted different local strategies to mitigate and adapt to its impacts. Nigeria responded by establishing institutions and adopting policies geared towards mitigating and adapting to the impacts of climate change. In order to assess the performance of the institutions with respect to climate change governance, the study adopted Structural-Functionalism as its theoretical framework, with methodology that involved Time-Series research design. Data was gathered basically from secondary sources with focus on the Niger Delta Region (NDR) due to its peculiar characteristics and susceptibility to the impacts of climate change. The study found performance failures a result of corruption. Funds meant to ameliorate the impact of climate change in the region are often diverted into private purse. The study therefore, recommended, among others, strict supervision of funds meant for climate change in the NDR, and that those involved in corrupt practices in climate change governance should be adequately punished.