Abuja, Dec. 16, 2025 – Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has come under intense scrutiny amid allegations that fintech companies were forced to collect inflated business registration fees from hundreds of thousands of small business owners, sparking claims of abuse of office and financial impropriety against the Registrar-General, Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, SAN.
Sources within the CAC, fintech ecosystem, and small business community alleged that the Commission ordered companies such as Moniepoint, OPay, and PalmPay to charge ₦20,000 per business registration, almost double the official fee of ₦10,500 at the time. Reports suggest that over 300,000 micro and small business operators were affected, with the extra ₦9,500 per registration allegedly diverted to a private consultant appointed personally by Magaji, potentially generating billions of naira outside government coffers.
Fintechs as Regulatory Gatekeepers
Insiders said CAC effectively turned fintech platforms into enforcers of compliance, requiring point-of-sale (POS) operators to register or face suspension, deregistration, or business shutdown. Most small business owners were reportedly unaware of the official CAC fee and believed the inflated charges were government-mandated.
A whistleblower claimed, “Magaji had an agreement to receive ₦3,500 from each application processed. With over 300,000 PoS operators involved, the total sum runs into several billions.”
Concerns over transparency prompted the Concerned Staff Forum to petition the Code of Conduct Tribunal on August 19, 2025, alleging abuse of office, financial mismanagement, and improper commercialisation of CAC services. The petition outlined questionable local and foreign travel expenses, including payments for study tours and conferences that were allegedly not undertaken, and called for investigations by the EFCC, ICPC, and National Assembly.
Registrar-General Responds
When contacted, Magaji defended the POS registration programme, saying it was primarily a security-driven initiative. He explained that POS terminals are issued only to incorporated businesses under the CBN Agent Banking Regulation, which requires operators to be registered with CAC. According to him, the scheme aimed to regularise unregistered businesses and collect KYC information vital for tracking financial crimes, including ransom payments via POS machines.
Magaji further stated that CAC had launched a programme to provide 250,000 free business registrations, with plans to expand to one million by the end of 2026. He added that the initiative included training and start-up capital through collaboration with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), aiming to create jobs rather than merely issue certificates.
On the allegations about inflated fees, Magaji clarified that the ₦10,500 fee was outdated. The official CAC registration fee now stands at ₦20,000, with an additional ₦5,000 availability check, bringing the total to ₦25,000. He noted that any additional fees charged by fintechs are private arrangements between service providers and companies, and CAC does not profit from them.
Transparency and Oversight
The Registrar-General stressed that CAC retains full ownership of data collected through its portal, with the technical infrastructure managed by Oasis, a Nigerian firm also contracted by FIRS. He urged journalists and auditors to verify the claims, insisting that CAC has not engaged in wrongdoing.
“This matter is open to investigation,” Magaji said. “You will not find me involved in any wrongdoing. Our focus is on simplifying business registration, improving accessibility, and maintaining accountability while ensuring compliance with the law.”
Yetunde Kolawole ✔
Godwin Okafor is the Publisher & CEO of Naija247news Media Group LLC, an independent investigative news platform delivering accurate, data-driven reporting on Nigerian and global politics, economy, finance, and business. Founded in October 2010, Naija247news specializes in developmental journalism, providing timely insights and analysis to readers across Nigeria and the diaspora.
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