A concerned accredited agent has written an open letter to the Registrar General of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, SAN, highlighting regulatory lapses under CAMA 2020 and administrative inefficiencies in the management of the Intelligent Company Registration Portal (ICRP).
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The letter, written by a legal practitioner with close to a decade of immersion in Nigeria’s corporate landscape and a cybersecurity expert, offers a formal evaluation of the current Registrar General’s stewardship since his historic appointment in October 2023 as the first Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) to lead the Commission.
The letter stated: “This open letter is rendered at a critical juncture in Nigeria’s corporate history. Six years post-enactment of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020, the promise of a ‘seamless digital registry’ remains a flickering mirage. Despite the lofty ambitions of the Act to drive the ‘Ease of Doing Business,’ the current administration of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) under the Registrar General (RG), Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, SAN, has overseen a period of significant technical and administrative instability.”
The letter acknowledged some achievements. The launch of the Intelligent Company Registration Portal (ICRP) in mid-2025 marks a definitive departure from the legacy systems of the past.
By introducing AI-driven name similarity checks and automated workflows, the Commission under RG’s administration has:
- Reduced Turnaround Time: Achieving a “sub-10-minute” registration for Business Names is a feat that hitherto felt impossible
- Enhanced Security: The introduction of One-Time Passcodes (OTPs) and stricter data privacy protocols is a necessary defense against identity theft and corporate hijacking
The initiative to formalize over 4 million informal businesses in 2024–2025 has significantly broadened the tax net and provided a pathway for MSMEs to access credit.
RG’s commitment to transparency, particularly regarding the Beneficial Ownership Register, has positioned Nigeria favorably with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
However, as of January 2026, the following “registration lapses” have become systemic:
Thousands of entities registered between 1990 and 2024 have “vanished” from the post-incorporation portal. This prevents companies from filing Annual Returns, changing Directors, or increasing Share Capital, effectively placing them in a state of regulatory stasis.
Critical fields, particularly Share Capital and Trustee details, remain uneditable during query resolutions, forcing users to abandon applications and forfeit non-refundable fees—a practice that borders on unjust enrichment by the Commission.
Despite claims of seamless identity verification, the synchronization with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) remains erratic, leading to months of delays for simple Business Name registrations.
The letter stated: “The current RG, despite his status as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, appears to have prioritized ‘optical reforms’ over functional stability. His leadership exhibits three fatal weaknesses:”
1. SYSTEMIC INSTABILITY AND CUSTOMER SUPPORT “BLACK HOLE”
The transition to the ICRP was fraught with “teething problems” that persisted longer than anticipated. The frequent downtime and the “disappearance” of legacy records during migration have caused significant anxiety among corporate directors, shareholders, investors, business partners locally and internationally and their solicitors.
While the AI handles routine filings, the Commission’s human-interfaced support (emails and helpdesk) remains largely non-responsive. Complex queries that require human legal judgment such as Section 839 interventions or complex share restructurings are often stuck in a loop of silence.
2. DISCONNECT FROM STAKEHOLDERS
While the Commission hosts “Stakeholder Forums,” the feedback from the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and ICSAN is routinely ignored.
The decision to increase filing fees on October 1, 2025, amidst a malfunctioning portal, was not only insensitive but economically regressive. It penalizes the compliant for the Commission’s technical incompetence.
3. FAILURE OF TECHNICAL OVERSIGHT
The RG’s “AI Revolution” lacks a robust Disaster Recovery Plan. The migration to ICRP was rushed, lacking a “Beta Testing” phase that involved the primary users (Lawyers and Accountants).
Consequently, the “instant approval” feature is currently only functional for the simplest Business Names, while complex Incorporated Trustees and Company Limited by Guarantee applications are trapped in a perpetual loop of “Pending Approval.”
The letter stated that under Section 8(1) of CAMA 2020, the functions of the Commission include establishing a registration office and an electronic registry in each state, and ensuring the efficient administration of the Act.
“The current state of the ICRP constitutes a breach of statutory duty. When the Commission’s portal prevents a company from filing its Annual Returns, the Commission cannot legally impose late filing penalties. Any attempt to do so would be ultra vires and subject to judicial review.”
If the current trajectory continues:
- Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) will stall: Investors require certainty of record. If the CAC can “alter” records at the whim of the RG, Nigeria becomes a high-risk jurisdiction for corporate ownership
- MSME Suffocation: Small businesses, unable to obtain “Active” status on the portal, will be unable to access credit or participate in government procurement
The letter made six detailed recommendations:
1. MANDATORY DATA RECONCILIATION
The Commission must immediately initiate a National Data Reconciliation Exercise. A dedicated window should be opened where companies with missing records can upload their certified true copies (CTCs) to “force-sync” with the new portal without being charged fees for records the Commission lost.
The consultant handling the ICRP product should be sanctioned for delay in resolving critical issues such as Business name portal.
2. “PREMIUM” SUPPORT ARCHITECTURE
Deployment of a Tiered Support System:
- Level 1: AI Chatbots for basic queries
- Level 2: Decentralized “Tech-Hubs” in each of the 36 State Offices
- Level 3: A “Liaison Office” specifically for NBA branches and ICSAN
3. AUTOMATED FINANCIAL REMEDIATION
The ICRP must be programmed to automatically credit a user’s CAC wallet if an application is “Voided” due to a system error rather than a user error, to prevent unjust enrichment of the Commission.
4. ADMINISTRATIVE TRANSPARENCY
All changes to registration requirements, fees, or documentation must be subject to a 30-day Public Notice Period and subsequent publications on the Commission website.
5. EMERGENCY “HYBRID” PROTOCOLS
In the event of an ICRP downtime exceeding 48 hours, the Commission must trigger a “Hybrid Protocol” allowing physical submission of urgent applications.
6. LEGISLATIVE OVERSIGHT
The Senate Committee on Trade and Investment must mandate a quarterly “Performance and Audit Report” from the CAC, including a “Success/Fail” ratio of the ICRP and a log of all “Manual Overrides” performed by the RG’s office.
In another development, an agent complained: “CAC, I have never in my life seen this level of incompetence. Please, what is the problem? What is going on with your portal? What is going on with your organization as a whole, that a whole federal parastatal will be this incompetent?”
The agent complained that since last year, they’ve been complaining about upgrade jobs, that CAC was issuing business name certificates instead of limited company certificates.
“Nobody, none of you said anything about it. You could not come out to address the issue. You could not talk to your customers. You could not talk to the public. You said nothing.”
The agent stated they went to post-incorporation to download documents themselves, and saw that jobs were coming out as certified true copies, so they paid and downloaded certified true copies and issued to clients.
“CAC, that was not enough for you. Only for you today, today you now go back and start issuing certificate again with an entirely different RC number. CAC, how does this work? So we have issued documents we got from your site with your signature on it. We got document from the CAC portal, with the RG signature on it, we have issued to clients. Now, today, you decide to wake up from your slumber and issue new document again.”
The letter concluded: “Sir, you have successfully ‘changed the engine of an aircraft mid-air,’ as often described. The trajectory is undeniably upward. However, for the landing to be truly successful, the Commission must move from a focus on Speed (Registration) to a focus on Stability (Post-Incorporation Support) and Integrity (Certainty of Record).”
“CAMA 2020 is a powerful tool for economic growth, but it is currently being blunted by administrative inertia and technical hubris. The Registrar-General must realize that a ‘Smart Registry’ is not one that merely uses the word ‘AI,’ but one that works for the good of a common man and business owners in Nigeria and foreign investors as the case may be.”
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