CAC delists over 400,000 inactive companies from official register

The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has removed more than 400,000 inactive and non-compliant companies from Nigeria’s official business register in a major clean-up exercise carried out in 2025.

Hussaini Magaji, the Registrar-General of the CAC, disclosed this during a “Celebration Walk” organised by the commission on Saturday in Abuja, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Magaji explained that the move is part of ongoing efforts to sanitise the corporate database, improve transparency, and ensure that only active and law-abiding businesses remain on the register.

He said in 2025 alone, “the commission de-registered over 400,000 companies,” in a bid to clean up its database from inactive and non-compliant entities.

The CAC boss said the action was also meant to safeguard the integrity of the national companies register.

Magaji further said the commission has transitioned from a manual, location-based registry to a fully digital, end-to-end service provider offering corporate registration services to Nigerians at home and abroad.

He said the commission’s digital reforms have greatly improved the ease of doing business, noting that entrepreneurs can now register their 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.

The CAC boss said the reforms have strengthened confidence in Nigeria’s business environment and enhanced transparency in corporate regulation.

Magaji added that the CAC, in partnership with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), facilitated free business registrations for 250,000 entrepreneurs as part of its support for small businesses.

The registrar-general explained that the initiative was designed to reduce the cost of formalisation and encourage small enterprises to operate within the regulated economy.

He also noted that the commission has operationalised a ‘beneficial ownership register’ to promote transparency and accountability by allowing the public to identify the ultimate owners of companies operating in Nigeria.

Magaji said the register has since become a global reference point for corporate transparency and efforts to combat financial crimes.