The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) on Saturday disclosed that over 400,000 companies were deleted from the Commission’s system for failing to file annual returns in 2025.

Speaking in Abuja during celebrations marking 35 years of CAC, the Registrar General, Hussani Ishaq Magaji, stated that the Commission has facilitated the establishment of numerous businesses in Nigeria throughout its history.

He said CAC, which was established in 1991, has achieved significant milestones. “CAC has come a long way from the manual to the digital era. These people you see here are the ones providing services to 250 million Nigerians. We are the only agency providing end-to-end digital services anywhere, anytime, 24/7,” he noted.

Magaji reaffirmed that CAC is at the starting point for businesses in Nigeria. “We facilitate businesses, and we make it easy to do so. You can now register a business without visiting the CAC physically. This is the ease of doing business. This is what CAC has achieved. It is the only agency whose services you can access right from your room,” he stated.

He explained that In facilitating businesses, CAC collaborated with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) to register 250,000 businesses as part of its support for MSMEs.

“In 2025, we gifted 250,000 registrations to MSMEs in Nigeria. This was made possible through SMEDAN, which supports businesses with training and other services. That is why we handed over the registrations to them,” he said.

Magaji added, “In 2025, we deregistered over 400,000 companies from our system. These are shell companies that were not filing annual returns. They are inactive and pose risks to economic operations. We did this to boost investor confidence and maintain a credible register at the Corporate Affairs Commission.”

The Registrar noted, “We call it the Beneficial Ownership Register. It has been launched and operationalised as a reference point globally. It allows us to identify the ultimate owners behind any company in Nigeria. Nowhere to hide. This is for transparency and accountability.”

Looking ahead, Magaji reaffirmed, “We are determined to provide a hospital managed by the Corporate Affairs Commission to support the health of our staff. Our existing staff welfare has improved, and we have achieved milestones in their career progression. To date, no claims are owed; the Commission has ensured staff welfare is prioritised.”

The Commission promised to continue supporting MSMEs in Nigeria to strengthen and stabilise the economy. (Saturday Tribune)