The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security and Supervising Minister of Cooperative Affairs, Sen. Dr. Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, has flagged off the South-West Zonal Engagement of the Ministerial Advocacy Tour on the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria Share Capital Mobilization and the Cooperative Sector Digitalization Drive.
The engagement is aimed at repositioning the cooperative sector as a major driver of inclusive economic growth, financial inclusion, enterprise development, food security, job creation, and poverty reduction in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the national aspiration of building a One-Trillion-Dollar Economy.
Speaking during the event held at the LASCOFED Multipurpose Hall, Ikeja, Lagos, on Monday 11th May 2026, Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Sen.Dr Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi stated that the event marks the formal commencement of two major initiatives under the _Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme (RH-CRRP) 2025-2030, as approved at the 8th Regular Meeting of the National Council on Cooperative Affairs (NCCA) in March 2026.
Sen Sabi Abdullahi stated that “Commencing this tour in the South-West is a symbolic return to the roots of the cooperative movement in Nigeria. This is where it all began in 1937 with Gbedun Cooperative, and it is fitting that we relaunch our reform agenda here,”.
He revealed that the kickoff of nationwide sensitisation for the establishment of the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria, designed to provide accessible and affordable financial services to cooperators, farmers, artisans, traders, SMEs, youth, women, and Persons with Special Need.
Sen. Abdullahi noted that to avoid past pitfalls where cooperative banks lost their identity, the new bank has a deliberate ownership structure:
– 65% Controlling Equity: Reserved for cooperative societies, unions, federations, and individual cooperators to preserve cooperative identity and control.
– 30% Non-Controlling Equity: Open to private institutional investors, development finance institutions, impact investors, and qualified individuals.
– 5% Equity Participation: For employees of the Bank and affiliated cooperative enterprises to ensure institutional commitment.
He emphasized that the initiative is government enabled but not government-funded, with no Treasury Single Account (TSA) funds involved.
“The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security will provide policy support, stakeholder coordination, and regulatory facilitation only, the Minister stressed.
Addressing the lack of credible data in the sector, Dr. Abdullahi also revealed that the Ministry is introducing two foundational digital identity systems:
– Cooperative Verification Number (CVN): Assigned to every registered cooperative society to verify genuine coops, eliminate ghost societies, improve regulation, and boost investor confidence.
– Cooperative Members Identification Number (CoopID): Issued to every cooperator in Nigeria to enhance financial inclusion, traceability, and access to financing.
Both systems, he added, will be integrated with the National Identity Number (NIN) architecture to harmonize with national data systems and serve as the data backbone for the proposed Cooperative Bank.
The Minister outlined the seven pillars of the RH-CRRP 2025-2030 to cover cooperative governance and institutional reforms; cooperative financing and the establishment of the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria; cooperative sector digitalization and data management systems; capacity building, cooperative education and human capital development.
The pillars also include value chain development, enterprise growth and market access; youth, women and persons with special needs, inclusion and empowerment; and strategic partnerships, investments and global cooperative competitiveness.
The Minister in a statement by the Head, Department of Information,Ezeaja Ikemefuna said the Cooperative Bank will serve as the entry point into a broader ecosystem through the proposed Cooperative Trust & Investment Society of Nigeria, CoopTrust.
This extends investments into housing, transport, retail, agro-processing, and digital platforms for our cooperatives,” Sen. Abdullahi said.
In her remarks, the Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, Mrs Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, noted that cooperatives are not relics of the past, but strategic institutions for the future.
She cited that globally, more than one billion people are members of cooperatives, while the top 300 cooperatives generate over two trillion dollars annually and drive substantial shares of agricultural production, housing finance, retail distribution, and community banking.
Emphasising that Nigeria must reposition its cooperative ecosystem as a critical component of national economic transformation, Ambrose-Medebem stressed the need for a nationally coordinated cooperative data architecture to provide reliable statistics on GDP growth, employment, and agricultural productivity.
She added that enhanced digital interoperability between cooperative registries, financial institutions, and regulatory agencies is essential to improve transparency, reduce fraud risks, strengthen investor confidence, and facilitate access to financing.
Warning that access to finance without strong governance undermines sustainability, the Commissioner called for intensified capacity-building for cooperative leaders in financial management, internal controls, cooperative law, digital bookkeeping, audit compliance, and strategic planning, backed by regular inspections and transparent reporting.
During his vote of thanks, the Federal Director of Cooperatives Department, Dr. Mohammed Bashir Abdulkadir, stated that the day’s discussions reaffirmed the bright future of the cooperative movement.
He noted that through collective commitment, strong governance, and digital transformation, the sector can become a major force for inclusive economic growth and national development.
He lauded the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Dr. Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, CON, for his commitment towards repositioning the cooperative sector under the RH-CRRP.
Dr. Abdulkadir also thanked the Lagos State Government and other stakeholders for the successful flag-off of the South-West Ministerial Tour.
