In the literature, two (2) vital questions have been frequently posed; the first is if efficient corporate governance can increase organizational performance and second, if companies with good executive compensation would lead to improve organizational performance. While findings seems by all account to be mixed in the literature, a number of researchers have the conviction that corporate governance efficiency and good compensation for the executives or board would minimize the likelihood of companies going out on a limb (e.g. poor performance). Hence, this study examined the effect of executive compensation and corporate governance on organizational performance in Nigeria. The study was conducted on fifteen (15) companies drawn from healthcare, natural resources and construction/real estate from 2013–2022. Ex-post facto research design was used and secondary data (CEO pay, board gender diversity, board ownership structure and return on asset) were obtained from the yearly audited annual reports of the selected companies. In order to account for unobserved heterogeneity, endogeneity and serial correlation problems associated with panel data, generalized method of moments was employed in validating the hypotheses of the study. The study demonstrates that executive compensation and corporate governance negatively significantly influence the performance of healthcare, natural resources and construction/real estate companies. It is suggested that executives or the board’s pay should be decreased to further enable companies have additional financial resource that can be invested in productive areas of the business, which in turn would improve the level of performance positively. This study contributes to the literature by offering empirical evidence of two imperative mechanisms underlying the improvement of organizational performance. The study not only considered executive compensation but also examined how ownership structure of the board and board gender diversity enhance organizational performance.