The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) is gearing up to delist a staggering 91,843 companies from its register due to their non-compliance with the filing of annual returns.
The commission, in a list made public on its official website, identified the companies slated for delisting, revealing a slight decrease from the initial figure of 94,581 published in August.
This move follows the July statement by the Registrar-General and Chief Executive Officer of CAC, Garba Abubakar, wherein he disclosed the commission’s intent to purge 100,000 registered companies from its database for neglecting to file mandatory annual returns.
Abubakar emphasized that CAC had intensified its enforcement measures to ensure the removal of non-compliant companies.
The commission had previously announced its plan to send notices of striking off to the affected companies, adhering to the stipulations of Section 692 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), 2020.
In an update provided on December 5, CAC confirmed, “The list of companies that have failed to comply with the provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 to file up-to-date annual returns is now ready for publication.”
The commission urged companies that had submitted complete annual returns in response to the earlier notice to confirm their removal from the impending delisting.
The updated list is accessible on the commission’s official website.
Companies that find themselves erroneously included on the list despite filing complete annual returns are directed to send evidence of filing to [email protected] within 30 days.
The announcement underscored the illegality of any company carrying on business after being struck off the register of companies, emphasizing that restoration to the register could only occur through an order of the Federal High Court.
Furthermore, CAC clarified that the striking off of a company’s name from the register does not exempt it from the commission’s authority to enforce liabilities under the Act against the directors of the delisted company.
The public is advised to take note of these developments and comply with the necessary procedures outlined by the commission.