Drama as Senate panel seeks sack of CAC Registrar of failure to honour summons
There was drama in the Senate on Thursday as lawmakers urged President Bola Tinubu to remove the Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, over what they
There was drama in the Senate on Thursday as lawmakers urged President Bola Tinubu to remove the Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, over what they described as his persistent refusal to honour invitations from the National Assembly.
The resolution followed a motion moved by Senator Orji Uzor Kalu during the Senate Committee on Finance’s 2026 budget defence session, which had in attendance the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, and the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, alongside heads of other revenue-generating agencies.
Tension heightened at the commencement of the session when senators observed the absence of the CAC Registrar-General, who was invited to account for the commission’s revenue and performance.
Magaji, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), was said to have sent a representative instead.
Moving the motion, Kalu expressed anger over what he termed repeated disregard for legislative oversight.
“Since I came to the Senate, he has always given excuses that he is in the Villa. He had refused on so many occasions to honour our invitation to appear before this committee. We have issues with the reconciliation of the revenue of CAC,” Kalu said.
In a more forceful submission, he added: “This man is not coming to the Senate, he's not above the law, this is the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Budget, they're here. We summoned them and they came and this man thinks he's bigger than the Senate, we're not going to take that rubbish again.
“I move a motion that the Registrar-General of CAC man should be reported to Mr President and ask for immediate removal because we cannot continue with this man.
“This CAC man, since I came to this Senate, has never appeared, he will continue saying he's in the villa, he's going to London. Is that what we're doing here? He should come and give us an account of what he had done,” Kalu said.
The motion was seconded by Senator Adams Oshiomhole, who further proposed that the Senate withhold approval of the CAC’s 2026 budget allocation should the registrar-general continue to ignore the committee’s summons.
Chairman of the Committee, Senator Sani Musa, corroborated the concerns, citing unresolved discrepancies in the reconciliation of the commission’s revenues.
“The Registrar General of the CAC has refused on many occasions to honour the call, invitations or summons of this most important committee.
“As Registrar General, we have issues with his reconciliation of their revenue. Anytime he's invited, he'll give us one reason or the other and he'll send junior officers to come and talk to the Senate,” Musa said.
He subsequently put the motion to a voice vote, asking: “Those in support, please say yes; those against, say nay.” The majority of senators voted in favour, and the resolution urging the President to terminate Magaji’s appointment was adopted.
The committee also indicated that it may escalate sanctions, including withholding budgetary approvals, if the situation persists.
The CAC, established under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), is responsible for the registration and regulation of companies, business names and incorporated trustees in Nigeria. As custodian of the nation’s corporate registry, it plays a central role in the business environment and generates significant non-oil revenue for the Federal Government through registration and filing fees.
Under Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the National Assembly is empowered to conduct investigations into the activities of any authority charged with administering federal laws or disbursing public funds and may summon public officials in the exercise of its oversight functions.
While the Senate can pass resolutions recommending removal, the power to appoint or remove the head of an executive agency such as the CAC rests with the President, subject to the provisions of the enabling law.
As of the close of the session, no response had been received from the CAC Registrar-General. The Senate, however, signalled its determination to enforce compliance, stressing that no public official is above parliamentary scrutiny.
