The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) says it delisted more than 400,000 inactive and non-compliant companies from Nigeria’s official companies register in 2025, as it intensified efforts to improve transparency and restore confidence in the business environment.
Hussaini Magaji, registrar-general of the commission, disclosed this on Saturday in Abuja during a Celebration Walk organised by the CAC.
According to Magaji, the mass de-registration exercise was aimed at cleaning up the national companies database and safeguarding the integrity of the corporate register.
“In 2025 alone, the commission de-registered over 400,000 companies,” he said, adding that the affected entities had failed to meet statutory compliance requirements or had become inactive.
The registrar-general said the CAC has also completed a major transition from a manual, location-based registry to a fully digital, end-to-end corporate services platform, allowing Nigerians at home and abroad to register and manage businesses online.
“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 noted that the digital reforms have significantly improved the ease of doing business in Nigeria, strengthened regulatory transparency, and boosted investor confidence.
As part of its support for small businesses, Magaji said the CAC, in partnership with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), facilitated free business registrations for 250,000 entrepreneurs.
The initiative, he explained, was designed to reduce the cost of formalisation and encourage small enterprises to operate within the regulated economy.
Magaji also revealed that the commission has operationalised a beneficial ownership register, enabling the public to identify the ultimate owners of companies operating in Nigeria.
He said the register has since gained global recognition as a reference point for corporate transparency and efforts to combat financial crimes.
