Administrative Support Functions and Board Performance in Nigerian Public Companies: Evidence from the North

This study examines the relationship between administrative support functions and the performance of boards of directors in selected Nigerian public companies headquartered in the northern geopolitical zones (North West, North Central, and North East). Board administrative support, encompassing meeting logistics, agenda preparation, governance documentation, and regulatory filing coordination, significantly affects the capacity of boards to discharge their oversight duties effectively. Using a professional survey design, the study targets company secretaries, board administrative officers, and non-executive board members in fifteen publicly quoted companies in the study region. Structured questionnaires and board performance assessment inventories form the data collection toolkit. The Corporate Governance Framework and the Board Effectiveness Theory provide the theoretical anchors, with reference to literature from 2021 to 2024 on board administration in Nigerian companies. The study examines how administrative support quality affects board meeting efficiency, governance documentation completeness, and statutory filing timeliness. Recommendations target the Securities and Exchange Commission's corporate governance unit and the Institute of Directors Nigeria. Keywords: administrative support, board performance, public companies, corporate governance, northern Nigeria