Hussaini Magaji, the new Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), claims that within one week of taking office, he discovered 189 fraudulent firms set up to deceive well-meaning Nigerians.
Magaji told reporters in Abuja on Tuesday that the commission had apprehended a criminal group that specialized in operating several unregistered companies.
“We discovered that these non-existing entities collaborate with lawyers who claim to be accredited agents with the commission.
“They collaborate with some staff of the Abuja Geographical Information System (AGIS), manage their way to make applications at the AGIS, and take priority over existing applications.
“With the collaboration of security agents, we arrested the suspect who had volunteered some information,” he said.
He stated that the suspect was apprehended in response to an FCTA complaint requesting that the commission verify some applications made by various organizations.
According to Magaji, who was appointed as the registrar-general of the Commission on October 13, the panel discovered that the companies did not exist at all.
“The nature of their crime is that they create a fake entity, apply for land at the FCTA, and maneuver their way to have a priority application over an existing application.
“To take over the land, and they have succeeded severally in the past.”
The CAC boss then reaffirmed his resolve to deter others from committing such activities.
Regarding the CAC’s plans, Magaji stated that greater attempts would be made to increase revenue for the Commission.
The registrar-general stated that upon taking office, he developed several priorities, one of which is human capital development.
“I think this is essential to the discharge of the responsibilities of any staff in the commission, and we are taking it seriously.
“Followed by the welfare of staff, this is one of the issues we met in the commission that is lingering and creating havoc in the commission.
“So we have plans to address it as soon as possible; we have set an agenda and will discuss it in our next management meeting,” he said.
The CAC boss, on the other hand, urged the workforce to do their part in driving the organization forward, even as management worked to do theirs.
On ease of doing business, he said it was one of President Bola Tinubu’s administration’s priorities, and the Commission would try to ensure it.
“That is one of the reasons why we are not talking about reviewing charges. One of the key things we will also do is further simplify the process of registration, he said.
