An Exposition of Corporate Governance Practices of Multinational Upstream Oil Companies in Nigeria
The practice of corporate governance (CG) in the business context refers to the systems of rules, practices, and processes through which companies are governed. However, this study investigated the corporate governance practices of multinational upstream oil companies (MUOCs) operating in Nigeria. The study adopted a qualitative research method in which primary data were obtained from top echelons of the companies through direct interviews with the concerned persons, using structured interviews and questionnaire were used to gather information from the respondents and the data obtained were analysed using the thematic qualitative analysis method. Findings reveal that all the companies derived their existence from the legal frameworks put in place, it also revealed that effective corporate governance practices such as board member’s efficiency, independence, integrity, transparency, oversights, and proper application and compliance with company-wide ethical standard practices, risk management framework, legal processes and procedures as well as the presence of loyal, dedicated, and trusted managers contribute immensely to long term company performance. The study concluded that it is crystal clear that without a good and efficient corporate governance system within an organization, no organization can succeed. Keywords: Corporate Governance, Board structure, Ethical dimensions, Risk management, Legal framework.