Does energy consumption contribute to economic performance? Empirical evidence from Nigeria

This article investigates the relationship between energy consumption and the Nigerian economy from the period of 1970 to 2005. The energy sources used to test for this relationship were crude oil, electricity and coal. By applying the co-integration technique, the results derived infer that there exists a positive relationship between current period energy consumption and economic growth. With the exception of coal which was positive, a negative relationship was noted for lagged values of energy consumption and economic growth. The implication of the study is that increased energy consumption is a strong determinant of economic growth having an implicit effect in lagged periods and both an implicit and explicit effect on the present period in Nigeria. Thus, it is pertinent that this sector should be given more relevance even by exploiting the opportunities laden in the sector to increase economic growth.   Key words: Energy consumption, economic performance, Nigeria.