Stakeholder Engagement and Social Risk Mitigation in Community-Driven Oil Projects in Rivers State, Nigeria

The study examined the effect of Stakeholder Engagement on Social Risk Mitigation in Community-Driven Oil Projects in Rivers State, Nigeria. The specific objectives of the study were to examine the effect of Stakeholder Consultation & Involvement on Social Risk Mitigation in Community-Driven Oil Projects and evaluate the effect of Grievance Management on Social Risk Mitigation in Community-Driven Oil Projects in Rivers State, Nigeria. A cross-sectional descriptive research design was adopted for the study. A structured questionnaire designed with a five-point Likert scale was used to collect data for the study. Data analysis involved the use of descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation, while inferential statistics including regression analysis were used to test the hypotheses of the study. The data collected were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 28.0. The result revealed that Stakeholder Consultation & Involvement has a significant positive effect on Social Risk Mitigation in Community-Driven Oil Projects with a P-value of (0.000 < 0.05) and Grievance Management has a significant positive effect on Social Risk Mitigation with a P-value of (0.000 < 0.05) in Community-Driven Oil Projects in Rivers State, Nigeria. The study concluded that stakeholder engagement is a critical driver of successful social risk mitigation in community-driven oil projects within Rivers State, Nigeria. The study recommended that oil companies and project implementers should adopt a participatory approach where community members are actively involved in the planning, design, and execution phases of community-driven projects.