Is Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission serious about online registration

Nigeria recently introduced her e-registration system, allowing for online company registration.1 The process is meant to be fully online and accepts the electronic signatures of directors and subscribers at the initial registration stage. The dilemma, however, is that on completion of the registration, the Corporate Affairs Commission (the Commission/CAC) requires promoters to submit hard copies of the incorporation documents which must be physically signed. Electronic signatures on such documents are unacceptable.2 This article argues that such requirements constitute a bureaucratic bottleneck in the company registration process, are a disincentive to doing business in Nigeria and defeat the entire purpose of the e-registration system.

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