From Atiku Sarki, Abuja
The Corporate Affairs Commission has deregistered over 400,000 companies for failing to file their 2025 annual returns, the Registrar-General, Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, has said.
Magaji disclosed this on Saturday in Abuja during a fitness walk organised as part of activities marking the commission’s 35th anniversary.
He said the affected companies were struck off the commission’s register in line with the law, stressing that the exercise was necessary to sanitise the corporate registry and ensure compliance with statutory requirements.
Reflecting on the commission’s journey since its establishment in 1991, the registrar-general said the CAC had undergone a major transformation from manual operations to a fully digital, end-to-end corporate registry offering 24-hour services.
“The commission has come a long way from the manual era to a fully digital system. Today, CAC is the only agency providing end-to-end digital services anywhere, anytime,” Magaji said.
He noted that unlike its early years when operations were limited to a single office in Abuja, the commission now serves millions of Nigerians and businesses across the globe.
According to him, the commission has played a critical role in facilitating business creation and improving Nigeria’s ease of doing business, allowing entrepreneurs to register companies without visiting any CAC office.
“You can now register a business from the comfort of your room. This is part of the ease of doing business that CAC has achieved,” he added.
Magaji also disclosed that the commission was partnering with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria to support small businesses, revealing that 250,000 free business registrations were provided to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises nationwide in 2025.
“In 2025, we gifted 250,000 registrations to MSMEs through SMEDAN, which supports businesses with training and other services,” he said, pledging continued support for small enterprises as a means of stabilising the economy.
On staff welfare, the registrar-general said the commission had introduced new initiatives, including housing and vehicle loan schemes, as well as improved healthcare support for its workforce.
He revealed plans to establish a CAC-managed healthcare facility this year to serve both serving and retired staff, aimed at improving access to healthcare and reducing out-of-pocket medical expenses.
Magaji added that the commission had cleared all outstanding staff claims and ensured that welfare issues were prioritised to enhance service delivery.
He reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to maintaining global standards in service delivery and urged staff to remain dedicated to the CAC’s mandate.
