Ameh, Jacob Ojobo2023-12-102023-12-102015-06-06Ameh, J.O. (2015). BOARD GENDER DIVERSITY AND AUDIT QUALITY OF NIGERIAN LISTED BANKShttps://keffi.nsuk.edu.ng/handle/20.500.14448/620Debates have been ongoing in US since the establishment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, 2002 whether it is necessary for the audit committee to be fully independent as required by the Act. The objective of this exploratory study is to extend the debate to Nigeria by examining the legal provisions in respect of audit committee of listed companies to determine its level of independence and its adequacy or otherwise. The results indicate that audit committees of companies in Nigeria have no optimal level of independence as the non-executive directors constitute only 50% of the committee members. Furthermore, there is no provision in the Nigerian legislation for inclusion of independent non-executive directors on the audit committees. The paper recommends that the provisions in the company and Allied Matters Act 1990 (as amended) particularly section 359(4) be amended to ensure that only independent non-executive directors constitute the members of the audit committee. The Securities and Exchange Commission is also called upon to review its rules to insist that audit committees be composed entirely of independent non-executive directors.enAudit committee independence, independent director, non­ executive director, level of independenceArticle