The purpose of this paper is to address the corporate governance system in Nigeria as to whether it is likely capable of mitigating the agency problem. Following an overview of both the market-based and the institutionally-based corporate governance models the authors propose the institutionally-based model for Nigeria considering the country’s peculiarities. This is the first attempt to specifically suggest that the institutionally-based model would be preferred for Nigeria against the present market-based model that is in operation. This paper has implications for regulators as there is the need to provide adequate protection for investors in view of the weak enforcement and compliance mechanism that obtains in Nigeria
