Risk Governance Frameworks and Operational Resilience in Nigerian Commercial Banks: A Post-Pandemic Assessment

This study assesses risk governance frameworks and their contribution to operational resilience in Nigerian commercial banks following the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent macroeconomic shocks. The pandemic exposed significant vulnerabilities in bank operations, technology infrastructure, and credit portfolios, placing risk governance mechanisms under intense scrutiny. The Central Bank of Nigeria introduced several emergency regulatory measures during this period, and the subsequent recovery has provided an opportunity to evaluate how governance structures supported or hindered resilience. Drawing on enterprise risk management theory and the Basel Committee's risk governance guidelines, this study examines how board risk committee structures, risk appetite frameworks, and management accountability mechanisms influenced banks' operational continuity during and after the crisis. A mixed-method design is adopted, combining secondary analysis of CBN supervisory reports and bank annual disclosures with interviews conducted with twelve bank risk governance officers. The study anticipates that banks with mature risk governance frameworks, including clearly defined risk appetites and empowered risk committees, demonstrated superior operational resilience. Findings will assist bank boards, risk management departments, and the Central Bank of Nigeria in strengthening post-pandemic governance frameworks. Keywords: risk governance, operational resilience, commercial banks, COVID-19, corporate governance.