Official Publication of Direct Research Journal of Social Science and Educational Studies: Vol. 10, 2022, ISSN 2449-0806 Direct Research Journal of Social Science and Educational Studies Vol. 10(10), Pp. 157-165, December 2022 ISSN 2449-0806 DOI: https://doi.org/10.26765/DRJSSES10104125 Article Number: DRJSSES10104125 Copyright © 2022 Author retain the copyright of this article This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0. https://directresearchpublisher.org/drjsses/ Full Length Research Paper Government Performance and Economic Growth in Nigeria Anidi, Praise 1 , Ekperiware, Moses C. 2 *, Adewusi, Adeyinka 1 , Oyetade, John A. 3 , Judith U.C. Nwoke 4 , and Stephen Brass Ogullah 5 1 Department of Accounting and Finance, Caleb University, Lagos State, Nigeria. 2 Department of Economics, Caleb University, Lagos State, Nigeria. 3 Lagos State University of Science and Technology, Ikorodu, Lagos State, Nigeria. 4 Department of Finance, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United State. 5 Department of Account, Faculty of Management, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. *Corresponding Author E-mail: moses.ekperiware@calebuniversity.edu.ng Received 5 November 2022; Accepted 20 December 2022; Published 22 December 2022 ABSTRACT: From the conceptual point of view, economic growth is an indicator of a county’s wealth increasing over time. A positive economic growth has a positive impact on the national income of the country. The objective of this research is to examine the impact of government performance on the economic growth in Nigeria. The study covered a period of 39 years; 1980 to 2019.The data analysis was done using descriptive statistics. The technique for data analysis used for the secondary data is Auto Regressive Distributed Lag model (ARDL) with the aid of data treatment Augmented Dickey Fuller test (ADF). The study carried out a unit root test, using ADF. The result of the test showed that Gross Domestic Product Growth Rate (GDP) is stationary at level; while General Government Final Expenditure (GFE), Official Exchange Rate (OEX) and Inflation Rate (INF) are stationary at first difference, meaning that they are integrated of order one. Findings from the research paper show that government spending has a significant effect on inflation, unemployment, exchange rate; spending also has an effect on the economic growth of Nigeria. Recommendation from the author includes the following: Firstly, policy makers should focus on maintaining inflation to a low rate. Secondly, government should improve economic growth through price stability. Thirdly, monetary policy should be used to create a favourable environment for investment. Lastly, policy makers should also keep exchange rate under control since they help to mitigate negative economic growth and they contribute to economic growth since they are tied tightly to international trade and investment. Keywords: Government performance, economic growth, inflation rate INTRODUCTION Every country aims at achieving a considerable level of growth and development within its gross domestic product in the economy with government playing basic roles in the stabilization, distribution and allocation of resources where necessary. A country without infrastructure (among several different factors) cannot experience a meaningful economic growth and development. Infrastructural growth is a major driver of any nation’s economic growth process. Infrastructure is a catalyst for public development like health care delivery, transportation, education and food security (Babatunde 2018). Nigeria has an extensive infrastructure of roads, railroads, airports, and multimedia communication networks. The road system is by far and wide, the foremost necessary part within the country's transportation network, carrying 95% of all the nation's product and passengers. Currently, several roads are in disrepair due to poor maintenance and years of significant traffic. Government polices additionally do have an effect on economic growth; a number of them embrace fiscal policy, monetary policy and income gain policy. Fiscal and monetary policies are the foremost used policies. Fiscal policy is the means by which a government adjusts its level of tax and influences a nation’s economy (Agu, Okwo, Ugwunta, Idike 2015). This economic policy