Administrative Corruption and Public Infrastructure Delivery in South South Nigerian States

This study empirically analyses the effects of administrative corruption on the delivery of public infrastructure in Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, and Edo States, collectively comprising Nigeria's South South geopolitical zone. Despite receiving disproportionately large federal revenue allocations owing to oil resource endowments, the region presents some of Nigeria's most egregious infrastructure deficits, suggesting a systematic connection between corruption and under-delivery of public works. A panel data design covering 2015 to 2023 is employed, with administrative corruption proxied by state-level corruption indices from Transparency International's Nigeria sub-national assessments and the Open Budget Survey. Infrastructure delivery outcomes are measured by capital project completion rates, road condition indices, and access to improved water and sanitation. Fixed effects regression and instrumental variable estimation are used to address endogeneity concerns. The Rent-Seeking Theory and the New Institutional Economics Framework provide the theoretical foundation. Findings confirm a significant negative relationship between corruption intensity and infrastructure delivery outcomes across all six states, with procurement corruption exerting the largest marginal effect. Oil revenue windfalls are found to amplify rather than reduce corruption's negative infrastructure effects when governance quality is low. The study recommends oil revenue management reforms anchored in independent fiscal institutions and mandatory community infrastructure monitoring. Keywords: administrative corruption, public infrastructure, South South Nigeria, oil revenue, procurement.