CORPORATE GOVERNANCE SYSTEM IN NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES: PRACTICES, CHALLENGES AND WAY FORWARD

Abstract

Corporate governance is critical for ensuring quality education, responsible resource management, and the overall 
effectiveness of higher education institutions. It is a critical aspect of management in universities as it ensures 
transparency, accountability, integrity, autonomy and effective decision-making processes. Good corporate 
governance practices have been extended to the university system because the concept have been identified to have 
the capability of helping to address issues such as corruption, adequacy and mismanagement of funds, political 
interference, law compliance, leadership and lack of transparency among others in Nigerian universities. This paper 
describes and discusses the current practices of corporate governance in areas such as accountability, integrity, 
responsibility, transparency and autonomy in Nigerian universities, the challenges faced, and proposes ways forward 
to improve corporate governance in universities. Ways such as; by strengthening regulatory oversight, investing in 
capacity building initiatives, enhancing stakeholder engagement, ensuring independence, and improving financial 
accountability. Recommendations such as proper and regular monitoring and supervision of activities of staff, 
students, and managers of the university and devoid of corrupt practices, effective accountability measure should be 
put in place, political godfathers and the government should hands off and give way for academic and operational 
autonomy of universities among others were made, so that  Nigerian universities can improve their governance 
structures and to promote transparency and accountability in decision-making processes, also to be highly  
productive via the attainment of  the three main goals of a university in the areas of teaching effectiveness, research 
output, quality graduate outputs and community development service.