The Federal Government has launched a nationwide advocacy campaign to mobilise share capital for the proposed Cooperative Bank of Nigeria.
It also unveiled a digital identity framework aimed at repositioning the cooperative sector as a major driver of financial inclusion, enterprise growth, and economic expansion.
The initiative is expected to widen access to affordable financing for millions of farmers, artisans, traders, women, youths, and small businesses traditionally excluded from conventional banking systems, while integrating cooperatives more effectively into Nigeria’s formal economy.
Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Aliyu Abdullahi, described the program as a major national intervention designed to unlock the vast but underutilized economic potential of Nigeria’s cooperative movement.
According to him, the initiative followed resolutions reached at the 8th Regular Meeting of the National Council on Cooperative Affairs in Abuja, where stakeholders adopted the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Program, a seven-pillar framework aligned with the economic transformation agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
At the centre of the reform package is the proposed Cooperative Bank of Nigeria, which Abdullahi said would provide affordable and inclusive financial services to cooperators, farmers, artisans, traders, small businesses, women, youths and persons with disabilities who are often excluded from mainstream banking services.
He acknowledged that previous cooperative banking models collapsed after drifting from their founding principles and becoming excessively commercialized, but insisted the new structure had been carefully designed to avoid past failures.
“We are building a cooperative financial institution that preserves cooperative ownership, strengthens accountability, and fully complies with modern banking and regulatory standards.
“The mistakes of the past have been carefully studied, and this model is intentionally structured to protect the interests of cooperators,” Abdullahi said.
The minister disclosed that 65 per cent of the bank’s equity would be reserved for cooperative societies, unions, federations, and individual cooperators, while 30 per cent would be opened to institutional investors, development finance institutions, and impact investors.
The remaining five per cent, he said, would be allocated to employees within the cooperative banking ecosystem.
He stressed that the Federal Government would not directly finance the bank, describing the initiative as “government-enabled but privately driven.”
“Our responsibility is to provide policy direction, regulatory support and stakeholder coordination. The capital mobilization itself must come from the cooperative movement and strategic investors,” he said.
Abdullahi also revealed plans for a broader cooperative investment ecosystem through the proposed Cooperative Trust and Investment Society of Nigeria, which would channel investments into housing, transportation, agro-processing, logistics, retail, and digital services.
A major component of the reform agenda, he added, is the digitisation of the cooperative sector to improve transparency, governance, and planning.
He lamented that the absence of credible and centralised data had weakened policy formulation, discouraged investors, and limited the ability of development institutions to support cooperative enterprises effectively.
To address the challenge, the ministry plans to introduce two digital identity systems — the Cooperative Verification Number and the Cooperative Members Identification Number — both integrated with the National Identity Number architecture.
“The Cooperative Verification Number will authenticate registered cooperative societies, eliminate fraudulent operators and improve oversight, while the Cooperative Members Identification Number will create a traceable digital identity for every cooperator in Nigeria,” he said.
“With reliable data, the government will plan better, investors will make informed decisions and development interventions can be targeted more effectively. It is time for the cooperative sector to take its rightful place within Nigeria’s formal economic architecture.”
He added that the government would continue to mobilise capital, strengthen agricultural value chains, and build partnerships to help farmers, cooperatives, and agri-enterprises thrive.
Beyond financial support, he said the government remained committed to improving post-harvest handling, storage, processing, logistics, and market access through the cooperative movement.
Also speaking, Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, Folashade Bada Ambrose-Medebem, disclosed that the state had released N5 billion as its counterpart contribution under the Lagos State-Bank of Industry Access to Finance for SMEs Through Cooperatives initiative, known as LASMECO.
The N10 billion programme is expected to provide single-digit interest loans to cooperative-based micro, small and medium enterprises across the state. She said programme accelerators would soon be onboarded before applications are opened to qualified beneficiaries.
“Eligible cooperative-based MSMEs will be able to access loans of up to N10 million at nine per cent interest, with a six-month moratorium and repayment tenure of up to two years.
“The objective is to expand access to affordable financing for grassroots enterprises that are often locked out of traditional credit systems,” she said.
Mrs Ambrose-Medebem noted that cooperatives globally account for more than one billion members, while the world’s top 300 cooperatives generate annual revenues exceeding $2 trillion, stressing that Nigeria could no longer afford to treat the sector merely as a social intervention platform.
She said Lagos State had already begun deploying digital registration systems, electronic documentation platforms and automated member management processes to modernize cooperative administration and eliminate bureaucratic bottlenecks.
“When fully operational, the digitization process will deepen transparency and strengthen confidence within the cooperative ecosystem. Members will have easier access to financial records, transaction histories and operational updates in real time,” she said.
Earlier, Federal Director, Cooperatives, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Mohammed Bashir Abdulkadir, expressed optimism about the future of the sector.
“As we commence this nationwide advocacy and mobilization tour from the South-West zone, we look forward to stronger collaboration, wider stakeholder participation, and greater support toward the successful realization of the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria and the Cooperative Sector Digitalization Drive,” he said.
(The Nation)
