Business
CAC REMOVES OVER 400,000 COMPANIES FROM REGISTRY IN 2025
The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has removed over 400,000 inactive companies from its official registry in 2025 as part of sustained efforts to enhance transparency, strengthen economic integrity, and boost investor confidence.
The Registrar-General of the Commission, Hussaini Magaji, SAN, disclosed this on Saturday in Abuja during the CAC’s monthly fitness walk, organised as part of activities marking the commission’s 35th anniversary.
Magaji explained that the affected entities were largely companies that had failed to file statutory annual returns for several years and were no longer in operation, noting that their continued presence on the register posed risks to Nigeria’s economic system.
“In 2025 alone, we deregistered over 400,000 companies from our records. These were largely companies that had become inactive and failed to meet statutory obligations, including filing annual returns,” he said.
“Such entities pose threats to economic operations. Cleaning up the register was necessary to build confidence and ensure that Nigeria has a credible and reliable corporate registry.”
He stated that the deregistration exercise forms part of the CAC’s broader reform agenda aimed at maintaining a transparent, credible, and dependable corporate registry capable of attracting both domestic and foreign investments, while also curbing the misuse of corporate structures for illegal activities.
Magaji emphasized that a transparent corporate register is critical to Nigeria’s economic growth and investor trust.
He further disclosed that the CAC has transitioned into a fully digital, end-to-end service provider, enabling businesses to register and manage their operations remotely on a 24-hour basis. According to him, the digital transformation aligns with the Federal Government’s ease-of-doing-business reforms.
In addition, Magaji revealed that in collaboration with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), the commission facilitated free registration for 250,000 micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in 2025, alongside the provision of training and capacity-building support.
He added that improved staff welfare and ongoing digital reforms have significantly enhanced service delivery across the commission.
The Chief Executive Officer of Shell Plc, Mr. Wael Sawan, has stated that the leadership and vision of President Bola Tinubu are the primary reasons the energy giant is prepared to invest an additional $20 billion in Nigeria. Sawan made the declaration during a meeting with President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa.
He praised the President for creating a healthy investment climate and restoring investor confidence, which has propelled Shell to deepen and expand its investments. Sawan emphasized that Nigeria under Tinubu is now a top destination for global oil company investments, contrasting with a previous period when Shell was pulling back.
“We have really been in a space where we are very keen to invest in Nigeria. But I would say this has not always been the case. Your leadership and your vision have created an investment climate over the last few years that, I will be very honest with you, propelled us to invest,” Sawan said.
He detailed Shell’s recent commitments, including $5 billion in Bonga North and $2 billion in HI, alongside gas projects for NLNG. The major new project is Bonga Southwest, which Sawan described as potentially “one of the biggest energy projects in the world.” He stated that reaching a Final Investment Decision on Bonga Southwest could see Shell and its partners invest around $20 billion in foreign direct investment.
“Stability in today’s environment will honestly have a premium for corporates because we are investing not for one administration or five or 10 years, we want to invest for 20, 30, 40 years and in the case of Nigeria, for many, many decades,” Sawan added.
The Shell CEO also commended the professionalism of the President’s team, calling them “amongst the best that we are dealing with anywhere in the world.”
In response, President Tinubu approved the gazetting of targeted, investment-linked incentives to support the proposed Bonga South West deep offshore oil project. He directed his Special Adviser on Energy, Mrs. Olu Arowolo-Verheijen, to facilitate the process.
“These incentives are not blanket concessions,” President Tinubu stated. “They are ring-fenced and investment-linked, focused on new capital and incremental production, strong local content delivery, and in-country value addition.”
The President set a clear expectation, adding, “My expectation is clear: Bonga South West must reach a Final Investment Decision within the first term of this administration.”
Sawan described Shell’s renewed commitment as a “sea change” and thanked the President for the leadership that provided the “incremental incentives” making the massive project viable.
WASHINGTON, December 19, 2025 – The World Bank has approved a 500 million dollar financing package for Nigeria aimed at expanding access to finance for micro, small, and medium enterprises. The project, named Fostering Inclusive Finance for MSMEs in Nigeria or FINCLUDE, consists of a 400 million dollar loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and a 100 million dollar credit from the International Development Association.
The project will be implemented by the Development Bank of Nigeria, with credit guarantees delivered through its subsidiary, Impact Credit Guarantee Limited. It seeks to address major barriers to formal finance faced by Nigerian MSMEs, which account for nearly half of the country’s GDP and a large share of jobs. Fewer than one in twenty of these businesses currently have access to bank credit, with loans often being short-term and costly. Women-led enterprises and agribusinesses face particularly acute challenges.
Mathew Verghis, World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, stated, “FINCLUDE is about jobs, opportunity, and inclusion. By opening finance for viable MSMEs—particularly women-led firms and agribusinesses—Nigeria can accelerate growth and deliver tangible benefits in communities nationwide. The project will make it easier for deserving small businesses to get the finance they need to grow and hire workers.”
The operation aims to mobilize private investment and expand the availability of inclusive financial products. It will strengthen the capacity of banks, microfinance banks, and non-bank financial institutions like FinTechs to provide larger loans with longer repayment periods. Through partial credit guarantees, it will enable lenders to extend credit to businesses otherwise considered too risky. The project will also introduce an AI-enabled digital platform to modernize loan appraisal and speed up decisions.
Hadija Kamayo, Task Team Leader for FINCLUDE, provided specific targets, saying, “FINCLUDE will help to mobilize approximately 1.89 billion dollars in private capital, expand debt financing to 250,000 MSMEs—including at least 150,000 women-led businesses and 100,000 agribusinesses—and issue up to 800 million dollars in guarantees to catalyze lending.” Kamayo added that by extending the average maturity of MSME loans to about three years, the project will help firms invest in equipment, factories, staff, and productivity, translating finance into jobs and growth.
A strong emphasis on inclusion and targeted technical assistance is designed to ensure women-led businesses and agribusinesses benefit directly from these financial improvements.
TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, signed binding agreements with three major investors to form a new U.S. joint venture, a significant step aimed at averting a U.S. government ban after years of uncertainty.
The deal, unveiled on Thursday, will see American and global investors hold an 80.1% stake in the new entity, named TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC. ByteDance will retain a 19.9% stake. The three managing investors are Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX, who will collectively own 45% of the venture.
“We have signed agreements with investors regarding a new TikTok U.S. joint venture, enabling over 170 million Americans to continue discovering a world of endless possibilities as part of a vital global community,” TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew told employees in a memo.
The agreement addresses national security concerns that sparked a legal battle beginning in August 2020. It aligns with a framework presented in September, when former President Donald Trump delayed enforcement of a law that would ban the app unless its Chinese owners sold it. Trump declared the deal met the divestiture requirements of a 2024 law.
Chew stated the joint venture will “operate as an independent entity with authority over U.S. data protection, algorithm security, content moderation and software assurance.” However, Rush Doshi, a former official on the National Security Council, noted it was unclear if the algorithm had been fully transferred, licensed, or was still owned and controlled by Beijing, suggesting Oracle might merely provide “monitoring.”
Despite the divestiture, Chew added that TikTok global’s U.S. entities “will manage global product interoperability and certain commercial activities, including e-commerce, advertising, and marketing.” Previous reports from Chinese media indicated ByteDance would continue to play a major role, with a planned U.S. entity set to receive some revenue from the new joint venture.
The White House, which in September acknowledged the new joint venture would operate TikTok’s U.S. app, has stated questions remain about the deal.