The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) says it removed more than 400,000 inactive and non-compliant companies from its official register in 2025.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the registrar-general of the CAC, Hussaini Magaji, disclosed this during a “Celebration Walk” organised by the commission on Saturday in Abuja.
Magaji said that “the commission de-registered over 400,000 companies” in 2025 alone, explaining that the move was aimed at cleaning up the national companies database and eliminating entities that no longer meet regulatory requirements.
He noted that the exercise was also intended to protect the integrity and credibility of Nigeria’s corporate register.
The registrar-general further revealed that the commission has completed its transition from a manual, location-based registry to a fully digital, end-to-end service provider, enabling Nigerians both at home and in the diaspora to access corporate registration services seamlessly.
According to him, the digital reforms have significantly improved the ease of doing business in the country, as entrepreneurs can now register companies remotely without visiting any CAC office.
“Today, CAC provides services anywhere, anytime and 24 hours a day. You can register your business from your room without coming to our offices,” Magaji said.
He added that the reforms have boosted confidence in Nigeria’s business environment while enhancing transparency and efficiency in corporate regulation.
Magaji also disclosed that the CAC, in collaboration with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), facilitated free business registrations for 250,000 entrepreneurs to support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises.
He explained that the initiative was designed to lower the cost of formalising businesses and encourage small enterprises to operate within the regulated economy.
In addition, the registrar-general said the commission has operationalised a beneficial ownership register, which allows the public to identify the ultimate owners of companies operating in Nigeria.
According to him, the register has become a global reference point for corporate transparency and efforts to combat financial crimes.
