ENVIRONMENTAL ACCOUNTING REPORTING AND MANAGEMENT OF FRAUD OF LISTED AGRICULTURAL FIRMS IN NIGERIA

This study examined environmental accounting reporting and management fraud of listed agricultural firms in Nigeria. The objective of the study was to investigate whether emission reporting, effluent and waste reporting, compliance to environmental laws and biodiversity reporting have significant effect on management fraud. The secondary source of data collection was adopted in the study where the purposive sampling technique was used to select a sample size of four (4) listed agricultural firms for the study. Least Square regression analysis was used in this study and the findings revealed that emission reporting, effluent and waste reporting, compliance to environmental laws and biodiversity reporting has significant effect on management fraud. Finally, it recommended that priority should be given to policies regarding emission and energy management to promote optimal energy consumption. A careful mix of such policies should be considered as over-appropriation or under appropriation may lead financial misappropriation

SYNTHESIZING THE NEXUS BETWEEN SUSTAINABLE MARKETING MIX AND CONSUMER PURCHASING BEHAVIOUR IN THE EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Sustainable marketing is a subset of a diverse bodies of knowledge involved in propagating the imperative for businesses to have and maintain their competitive advantage while acknowledging the imperative for environmental and social sustainability. The popular assumption is that consumers are conscious of the environmental and social consequences of their consumption behaviour, however, this assumption may not be valid in developing economies. Although sustainable marketing mix and consumer awareness of sustainability practices, collectively influence consumer purchasing behaviour, there is a significant gap in the appreciation of sustainability knowledge and in the levels of adoption of sustainability practices across global spheres. This study, through synthesizing extant literature, establishes a thought coherence for future studies in developing countries

SOFT SKILLS: A SINE QUA NON FOR EMPLOYABILITY AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP AMONG BUSINESS EDUCATION GRADUATES IN LAGOS STATE, NIGERIA

The study assessed the effectiveness of soft skills in business education graduates gaining and sustaining jobs and how soft skills could be used in private entrepreneurial practice. The population comprised 360 students made up of 300 level and 200 level students of the Business Education Department in Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education and Lagos State University of Education, respectively and a sample of 186 students, using random sampling and the table for determining sample size for a finite population in determining the sample of the population. The instrument for data collection was 4- a point rating scale of Very Highly (4 points), Highly (3 points), Moderately (2 points) and Lowly (1 point) questionnaire on Soft Skills: A sine qua non for Employability and Entrepreneurship among Business Education Graduates in Lagos State (SKEEBEGLS). Mean and standard deviation were used to analyse the data generated from the answer to the research questions and the decision rule for the research questions was based on a cut-off point of 2.5 and above for Highly and below 2.5 points for Lowly.  The study's findings showed that the respondents agreed that soft skills were highly required to enhance the employability of business education graduates and for entrepreneurial sake. The study concluded that soft skills will improve the employability of graduates of business education and also enhance their technical skills.  The study could serve both as operational guidelines for business education undergraduate training, as well as intending entrepreneurs.  It was also recommended amongst others that business education graduates must be exposed to various entrepreneurial soft skills and also equip them with all the soft skills for them to create and maintain their customers’ needs

ENTREPRENEURSHIP BOTANY: A PANACEA FOR CURBING THE RATE OF UNEMPLOYMENT IN NIGERIA

Entrepreneurship botany, an emerging interdisciplinary field that integrates botanical science with entrepreneurial innovation, offers a sustainable solution to the escalating rate of unemployment in Nigeria. With the country's vast biodiversity and rich repository of economic plants, entrepreneurial engagement in botanical resources presents untapped opportunities for value addition, enterprise development, and job creation. This paper explores how entrepreneurial botanists can leverage indigenous and high-value plants such as Moringa oleifera, Hibiscus sabdariffa, Zingiber officinale, and Azadirachta indica to stimulate employment across multiple sectors, including agriculture, processing, marketing, and export. By promoting value chains and encouraging small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs), entrepreneurship in botany can contribute to rural industrialization, youth empowerment, and economic diversification. The study underscores the need for supportive policies, capacity building, and investment in plant-based innovation systems to unlock the full potential of this sector. It concludes that entrepreneurship botany is not only a viable tool for curbing unemployment but also a strategic pathway toward achieving inclusive and sustainable development in Nigeria

IGBO APPRENTICESHIP SYSTEM AND BUSINESS PERFORMANCE

Apprenticeship and skill acquisition have been proven to be a useful and reliable tool for business development and entrepreneurial performance.Apprenticeship in this study focused on Igbo context of skill acquisition and business development. Thus, apprenticeship in term of Igbo context is a system or process through which an apprentice, usually a young person, is admitted by a master craftsman for the sole purpose of acquiring and mastering a craft or trade for a stipulated period of time, after which the apprentice is provided with adequate support to establish his own business. This study examines the Igbo apprenticeship system and its effects on skill acquisition, business growth and entrepreneurial performance. The study adopted a cross-sectional case study of business owners in Ariaria, Aba business cluster. The sample size of the study is 306 small scale business owners in Ariaria, Aba. Data was analyzed using SPSS 21 version. Pearson moment correlation coefficient was adopted in testing hypotheses. The result indicates that apprenticeship programme was effective in helping the apprentices to acquire more skills and knowledge. The findings also suggest that skill acquisition through apprenticeship can guarantee efficiency and effectiveness, which leads to business growth and increase in performance among the entrepreneurs

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY OF SMALL SCALE ENTERPRISES IN BAYELSA STATEE, NIGERIA

The study examines the link between business development and economic sustainability of small-scale enterprises in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Two research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted a survey design. The population of the study comprised 200 selected entrepreneurs. The instrument used was an 8-item questionnaire. A reliability coefficient of 0.75 for the instrument was determined using Pearson Product Moment Correlation. The study employed mean and standard derivation to analyze the data on the research questions and Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation to test the hypotheses at 0.05 alpha level. The findings reveal that business development through research and development and local technology adoption offer significant economic sustainability in terms of productivity and customer satisfaction in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The study recommends that government and entrepreneurs should continue to improve on business development to enhance economic sustainability of small scale enterprises in Bayelsa State, Nigeria

ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPACT OF MICROFINANCE ON ENTERPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT IN KATSINA STATE

This study assessed the impact of microfinance on entrepreneurship development in Katsina State, two research objectives, research question and hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. Descriptive survey was adopted in the study where questionnaire was used to obtain the needed data that assist the researchers to address the research problem, objectives, questions and hypothesis. A sample size of 261 people was chosen and determined using stratified and simple random sampling method. In The data analysis, Multiple Regression Analysis (MRA), and techniques in parametric statics (PPMC) were adopted to show impact, causal/relationship between microfinance and entrepreneurship Development. The result obtain from the finding revealed that there is significant impact of microfinance on entrepreneurship development in Katsina State and there is a significant relationship between level of access to credit facilities and business expansion in Katsina State. Based on the findings, it was recommended that In order to positively encourage the spirit of entrepreneurship among youth, government should strengthened microfinance to address the problem of financing and capital accumulation through increase in it is funding of financial institutions that provide lending to entrepreneurs; Government at all levels (federal, state, and local) should also introduce variety of intervention programs with a mandate of assisting entrepreneurs to overcome problem of capital and required finance for enterprise expansion; The monetary authority (CBN) in collaboration with some development partners should organize training for staff of micro finance institutions. And the institution on their own part should continue to train and retain their human capital, segment and build up in depth knowledge of the market, develop appropriate products and services for small enterprises

UNIVERSITY STUDENTS AND SELF-EMPLOYMENT: THE IMPLICATION FOR ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Self-employment has been an increasing commonality among students of higher institutions, with minimal signs of ever decreasing in magnitude. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of self-employment on academic performance of students in tertiary institutions, with the view to ascertain the advantages or otherwise of such for policy implementations. The Federal University of Technology, Akure was used as reference case. A survey research design was adopted for the study. The data were analysed using descriptive (tables, frequencies, percentages and arithmetic mean) and inferential (Chi-square and Correlation) statistics. The research results revealed that there is no significant relationship between the students’ nature of business and the hours they devote to their business (P>0.05, χ2=0.444) and that there is no significant relationship between nature of business and academic performance of the students (χ2=0.450, P>0.05). Furthermore, there is no significant correlation between hours devoted to business and the students’ academic performance (r= -0.694, P>0.05). As such the study concluded that the students’self-employment did not negatively affect their academics performance

EXTERNAL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT AND PERFORMANCE OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES IN KADUNA STATE: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF INNOVATION

The aim of this study is to investigate how innovation function as a mediator in the relationship between the technology and socio-cultural environments, as well as how well Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) function in Kaduna State. Based on the knowledge-based theory of the company, the research aims to understand how technological and socio-cultural contexts affect the performance of SMEs. There are 495 SMEs in the state that make up the research sample. Owners and managers of particular SMEs were given questionnaires to complete in order to collect data. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to examine the data. The findings showed a strong and positive relationship between the technical environment and the performance of SMEs, as well as between the socio-cultural environment and performance of SMEs. However, innovation was found to be important in the relationship between the socio-cultural environment and the success of SMEs, but not in the relationship between the technology environment and SME performance. Therefore, in order to foster innovation and improve the performance of SMEs in Kaduna State, policies and interventions must place a high priority on the development of a favorable socio-cultural environment and the expansion of the technological landscape

ATTITUDES OF FEMALE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS TOWARDS ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION FOR SELF-RELIANCE

The study investigates attitudes of female university Students towards entrepreneurship education in Federal University of Education, Zaria. Survey design method was used for the study. The researchers targeted 100 female undergraduate students in Federal University of Education, Zaria. The instrument used for data collection is 60 item four rating scale structured questionnaire. Simple logistic Regression (SLR) and ANOVA were used to test the null hypotheses. All the null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 (5%) level of significance. Findings revealed that through entrepreneurship education, students are likely to foster their attitudes towards entrepreneurship in Nigeria. The researchers recommended among others that tertiary institutions in north-west, Nigeria should be mandated to establish Entrepreneurship Centres. The Centres should be equipped with all the modern facilities which could enrich the students with both theoretical and practical skills.  This will help to create students with positive attitudes needed for successful business management