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Claim: A viral WhatsApp message urges Nigerians to take part in free Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) company registration online with benefits attached.
The claim that the Federal Government is doing free online CAC company registration with benefits is false and misleading.
Full Text
Mischievous elements have continued to prey on citizens’ desires for freebies deceiving them that the CAC is giving out catchy and mouth-watering benefits to lure people to click a link to enable them to enjoy such freebies.
A viral WhatsApp message urges Nigerians to apply for the free CAC registration online with the benefits of 50,000 and others attached.
Screenshot of the WhatsApp message
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS APPROVED All SELF EMPLOYED AND BUSINESS OWNERS TO CARRY OUT THEIR C.A.C (CORPORATE AFFAIR COMMISSION) REGISTRATION ONLINE FREE OF CHARGE
BENEFITS OF C.A.Cs are
-Free N50,000 cash from FG
-Certificate of Incorporation
-Legal Liability Protection
-Free International Trade
-Continuity
-Free Trip to UK
-Reputation With Customers
-Getting on FG Record.
ENROL NOW
However, this is not the first time such false claims of freebies by government institutions will emanate in public platforms. Similar claims have been fact checked and were disproved by Dubawa.
Verification
When Dubawa accessed the link, the logo on the page was similar to the logo on the page of the CAC but it was noticed that the logo is faint in colouration while the one on the original website is bold.
See below the picture of the Logo…
Upon clicking on an icon, the page directed to another where bio data and name of company to be registered was displayed
The next page returns the message, ‘congratulations your CAC certificate will be ready shortly.’
The next stage on the application has pictures of beneficiaries without any information on how to contact them to assert if the claim of their benefit was genuine. After this comes the last page which reads “cac-registration.get-fundz.xyzsays..Thank you for your comment. It will be posted after review.”
This is the last message that appear, then applicants are asked to share to different groups they belong.
Dubawa checked the official website of CAC, disclaimer page and the commission’s social media handles to see if it was posted on the page but it was not there.
Dubawa also made a call to the customer care service of CAC to inquire about the claim; the respondent said it was false.
Furthermore, Dubawa used the google search to see if media platforms published information on the freebies but no such report was found.
Conclusion
The claim that the Federal Government is doing free online CAC company registration with benefits is false and misleading.
The fact check was produced per the Dubawa 2021 Kwame Karikari Fellowship partnership with the National Orientation Agency NOA to facilitate the ethos of the “truth” in journalism and enhance media literacy.
Aisha Ali