FG says NIN compulsory for business registration

Nigerians will be unable to register businesses unless they have a National Identification Number (NIN), according to the federal government.

This was revealed by the registrar of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Alhaji Garba Abubakar, on Monday in Abuja during the Bureau of Public Service Reform’s monthly reform seminar (BPSR).

He noted that the necessity is to verify the integrity of the data they are collecting.

Abubakar, at the lecture, themed: ‘Current  Reforms, Innovations and Challenges of the Corporate Affairs Commission, and Their Impact on the Growth of Nigerian Economy’ said:

• “If you don’t have a NIN, it means you can’t register your company, The essence is to verify the integrity of the data we are collecting.”

For security purposes: He added that the CAC opted for NIN because its security can’t be compromised, unlike the National Identity card, passport, and driver’s license, which could easily be cloned.

• “As such, we register an average of 2,000 companies every week. But it’s not just enough to register, you have to file your returns,” he added.
• ”As it stands, one man can register and own a company and if he is dead his children can take over for as long as the company is surviving and there are interests.
• “In fact, before now, many people were forced to register their companies with a second party just to fulfil legal requirements, but with CAMA, all that is in the past.”

He added that the act has also introduced limited partnerships and limited liability partnerships, which now provide additional options for entrepreneurs and law firms.

He also noted that with the coming of the act, the CAC registration portal was completely rebuilt to allow companies to transact on it from anywhere.

The CAC boss stated that they have commenced a mailing system for customers to process their registration in order to reduce physical contact with staff.

• “Now from anywhere in the world, you can register your company; all you need is to create an account, whether individual or corporate. After all the processes, we will send your certificate to you,” he assured.

For the record: Nairametrics reported earlier that the Corporate Affairs Commission announced the launch of a Beneficial Ownership Register (BOR) platform, which they said would be beneficial in strengthening the Buhari administration’s fight against corruption.

The CAC explained that the platform will make it easy to search for information on persons with significant control (PSC).